Jordi Fosas: "We have used popular culture entities as a laboratory for artists."

BarcelonaJordi Fosas (1976) has been directing the Mediterranean Fair of Manresa, an unmissable event to capture the vibrant pulse of musical and performing arts creation related to grassroots culture.Root that speaks to us in the present is one of the slogans I use the most", says Fosas. Raíz, which in its 28th edition, which takes place from October 9th to 12th, grows with artists such as Anna Ferrer, Sol Picó, María, Alondra, Cocanha, Aranná, Gloria Ribera, Bilaka, Cía Voël, Raül Refree with Ni.

One of the unique features of the Fira Mediterrània is the Obrador de Raíz, which is now in its fifth edition. Is this the goal you most desired?

— Yes. In 2019, there were two important challenges. One was to be able to explain very well what the fair is, what the concept of contemporary traditional roots means, and how to work with tradition from the present. The other was to build a sector around this work with tradition. And that meant encouraging and supporting artists so they could work, take risks, and successfully attend the fair, while also ensuring that this sector was working in a network with other facilities and spaces. The goal wasn't just to help artists co-produce projects, but also to generate a market and a sector around traditional arts. That's what I'm most pleased about with the fair.

At other fairs and markets, artists arrive with their work from home. Obrador de Raíz, on the other hand, fosters creativity at the fair itself.

— Yes, that too. This year the opening show is PAAnna Ferrer, who was based in Manresa last year during the fair with her team, just starting to develop the project. The same is true for projects currently at Fabra i Coats and the Graner del Mercat de les Flors, because we want everything to be a laboratory for cross-transmission of knowledge.

This creates complicity and loyalty, as with the Relena Cake, which began appearing in the chapel of the Rapture and they ended up performing twice at the Kursaal.

— This makes me very happy. For me, working with Marta Torrella and Helena Rosés is one of the clear examples of what we want the Mediterranean Fair and Obrador de Raíz to be. And to do so over time. The fair shouldn't be a "come and go" space, but rather should seek to sustain and accompany. Tarta Relena's performance at the Rapte chapel in 2019 prompted Carles Sala to welcome them to the Fabra i Coats for the wonderful show. 4132314 on textile memory with Cocanha and Los Sara Fontán [project that received the Ciutat de Barcelona Award]And that led them to return to the fair with a co-production with Sónar. And suddenly, it dawned on us that Fira Mediterrània could be in dialogue with Sónar. The job of a public space like the fair is to sustain cultural projects over time, to give them a boost. We've done this in music with Tarta Relena, the Root Music Orchestra of Catalonia (OMAC), and in dance with Pere Seda's L'Esbord. We firmly believe.

And do programmers understand the Root Workshop? They don't see the finished product; they have to wait a while for it to be finished.

— It's quite difficult to understand the creative process. We've been reorienting it. This year we're holding professional workshops that talk about supporting artists, and one of the discussions will be between Galderic Sanmartí, from the Porqueres Civic Center, Anna Sala, and Lara Magrinyà, from the L'Arannà group, who have been doing a residency. In other words, a municipal programmer like the Porqueres City Council can also support an artist in a creative process. Sometimes we think this can only be done by a facility like L'Auditori, the Fabra i Coats, the Graner, the Canal, or the Marfà, but it can also come from a programmer from a town like Porqueres. If we look at any French artist we have, like the Bilaka company, which will be in the Kursaal's main hall on its last day, look at the co-production and residency center credits and it's envious! On the other hand, here we see "with the support of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat" because they've requested a grant.

Well, with the OMAC case Yes, there were quite a few co-producers: Marfà, the Centro Artesano Tradicionàrius, several...

— Yes, he also came from the first Obrador. The condition sine qua non What we set was: it won't be a project that we'll simply co-produce from Fira Mediterrània. Instead of two producers, there should be ten. This meant that OMAC had the fair's gig and ten others. I'd really like the country to function this way.

In the strictly professional sphere, which aspect of the fair works best: the performing arts or the musical arts?

— I'd say music, because there are more bookings. It's a market that's more accustomed to working this way, and there's a much wider circuit and much more scope for projects. On the international level, music is undoubtedly the case. This year, for example, there's an overwhelming presence of international programmers. It also coincides with the annual meeting of the European Folk Network, which we helped create. Our work with the performing arts is much more at the Catalan and national level, although we've also opened doors internationally. Last year we had the programmer for the Cali Dance Biennial, and this year there are already projects in Cali, and there's also a workshop project planned with the Cali Biennial. In any case, the Fira is very useful for a municipal programmer's multidisciplinary approach: they can see a music concert, a dance performance, and a family-oriented one, and perhaps leave the fair practically with their letter to the Three Wise Men written, something that doesn't happen in other markets.

Do you talk to artists to ensure that the projects they present at Fira Mediterrània are tailored to the needs of the programmers?

— We try not to condition the creative process, but we do try to give it options, especially with dance pieces, because we have very little experience in the country with medium-sized, let alone larger, indoor pieces.

And now we will have less with the works in the Mercat de les Flors.

— Exactly. Therefore, we recommend that a piece can be very hybrid, that it can end up being a 20-minute street piece or become a 50-minute studio piece. There's a process of dialogue with the artist, of grounding but not conditioning. I haven't found myself having to reduce creative expectations for any artist.

Did you know Manresa well enough before becoming director of the Mediterranean Fair?

— I knew her from the fair, from dancing there, and from being there as a programmer for Esdansa.

And these six years as director of the fair, what have they revealed to you about Manresa?

— The whole network of organizations. I was familiar with Manresa and its facilities; therefore, I knew there was a whole range of incredible options. But when it came to scratching the surface, getting to know Xàldiga, the human towers, the Esbart Manresà, the Kursaal itself, the exhibitions, the team at the Baroque Museum, I thought, "Look, this is a city that's so little loved," and I don't understand. I still don't understand, and I express it as much as I can, because I don't. I come from Olot, which is sometimes a city that loves too much and quickly boasts about what it does. And you go to Manresa and think, "But it's priceless!" I wish they themselves would love a little more. Last year we occupied the Baroque Museum and we did some wonderful collaborations. We've used Manresa's popular culture organizations as a laboratory for artists, and I've found a city eager to create and a network that has been eager to be a laboratory, to work with popular culture.

Last year in the Baroque Museum There's already been a lot. It's a facility with a lot of potential.

— I'm deeply in love with the Baroque Museum. This year we'll be using the cloister again, where we'll put on some dance performances: Sol Picó, La Venidera... But we won't be able to use the upstairs rooms because they're undergoing renovations. By programming in the museum, in a clean room, you're telling the programmer they need very little. I'm sure you have a space in your municipality to program.

At the Vic Live Music Market they have introduced a couple of chapels as concert venues, and one of the directors, Joan Rial, He reminded the ARA that in every town in Catalonia there is at least one church..

— Absolutely. One good thing about strategic markets is that they're held in cities where we have venues, like ours, with the Kursaal Theatre with 800 seats. It's unbeatable, but we still have to find a way to put on 120 performances in four days. Therefore, you have to use a lot of spaces, like the Rapte Chapel. Everyone has a chapel in their municipality.

Not everyone has a cathedral. Manresa Cathedral, on the other hand, wasn't used much.

— Not much. It's hard. Last year we did a cornet and organ concert, but here we've gone backwards as a society. It's hard to make everything permeable and to have the desire to do things in this sense. But we certainly have the desire to do things at the Seu.

With your budget, how does the inflation of artistic fees affect you?

— Not just the fees, I'd say. We've tried to catch up on artistic compensation, but we've also taken on board inflation in the technical area and in accommodations. I'm very pleased with the commitment of the Directorate General of Popular Culture, and therefore the Department of Culture, to the project I presented in 2019. We have a workshop with 360,000 euros, and the fact that they've supported a project like this is very important. I can't complain about anything. They've also updated the fair's budget to adjust it to inflation.

What is your budget now?

— 1,360,000, more or less, of which one million is from Fira and 360,000 from Obrador de Raíz. When I started, the foundation's budget barely touched 900,000 euros.

What have been your best experiences at the Fira Mediterrània? And what have been your most challenging moments?

— Complicated, in 2019, the landing.

More than the pandemic?

— Yes, because we had very little time. I started in March, and by April we were already presenting a first draft of the program. Luckily, I came across some licorice, like the one from The ditch animal Sol Picó and Arnau Tordera with the Cobla Berga Jove. The pandemic was very complicated, very difficult, but I've fully invested both personally and professionally. At that time, everything was rethought from top to bottom. It was an extraordinary moment for us to firmly commit to the Obrador, because it was also a space that wanted to support artists just when they were completely at a standstill. One of the most beautiful moments I've experienced was a presentation we did of the first Obrador de Raíz, which we made at the workshop of Mosaics Martí, a company that makes traditional hydraulic mosaics but with modern technology. We wore masks and kept our distance, but I remember it as one of the most exciting moments I've experienced at the fair. And as a director, what excites me most is seeing all these projects that we've been supporting and that are working on, like Tarta Relena, Pere Seda, Momi Maiga, OMAC, and Anna Ferrer... When you see that things are going well for them, it also fills you up personally, allowing you to empathize with the artists.

One of the most shocking moments of these years was the end of the concert of The Voluble with Lots of Girls at the Kursaal, with everyone, including the Minister of Culture, dancing on stage.

— Yes, yes, yes... I think it's been one of the most powerful inaugural shows we've ever done, and one I'm most pleased about because it explains so well what Fira Mediterrània is and what we want to do with tradition. It's the inaugural show where the most people have written to me or hugged me afterward, thanking me for bringing things like this. Because this project could have been in the museum cloister for the 200 people who like Mucha Muchacha and Los Voluble, and instead, we put it in an inaugural context with 800 people at the Kursaal, with a very diverse audience that wasn't necessarily its audience...

What shows do you recommend at Fira Mediterrània 2025?

— I highly recommend going and seeing what you don't know. That would be the best advice.