The community of artists who live together and open the doors of a convent in Empordà

Pontós (Alt Empordà)Older people know it because it was a Marist Brothers seminary. Those born in the 80s and 90s know it because they went there for their first summer camps, sharpening tools and building huts like prehistoric people. And for the Catalan cultural scene, it has become, in the last eight years, an interdisciplinary meeting point. An intimate space where you can enjoy everything from performances by emerging groups, companies, and artists to shows by renowned musicians like Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Adrià Puntí, and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra.

On the inland border between the Alt and Baix Empordà regions, behind the barrier created by the high-speed rail line that connects to France, a turnoff from the N-II highway leads to Pontós, a small village of only 300 inhabitants that in recent decades has become a meeting place for artists and newcomers. Upon arrival, an iron gate leads into the convent. It's a 4,000-square-meter building with 11,000 square meters of outdoor space, where a dozen friends and six children live together in community.

They came from living in a community in Tiana (Maresme), rented the Pontós convent in 2018, and now each has their own space, straddling the old 16th-century farmhouse, the chapel, the theater, and the former hostel, a meeting place for workshops, retreats, and residencies. They also have a place to create and develop their artistic disciplines. But together, in addition to living together, they have launched the Mutte association, which works to bring culture to villages and to this green corner where good music is always playing. "The Convent is a family," explains Maria Tobias, a percussionist. "A meeting place," adds Laurent Driss, in charge of production. "And also a space for creation," concludes Anna Tobias, a musician and poet. "Because we are creative people."

Bang! The Pontós Festival

A good way to explain the project's idiosyncrasies is Bang!, Pontós's festival of live arts and offstage creations, which this year will be held from March 20th to 22nd. Every year, around the spring equinox, the Convent community expands tenfold to host artists in residence for a week. In return, they showcase their work in the village streets. "It's a living thing; the shows haven't premiered yet, and they get a real taste of the audience," explains Driss. "As for the timing, it works out very well for them because two months later they'll be touring all summer."

For the Mutte community, the process is important: they see the audience as an active part of the creative process, not just a consumer of culture. That's why they don't sell tickets; instead, participation is by choice, and if desired, a voluntary contribution can be made to cover the logistical costs of hosting a hundred people at the Convent. Thus begins the season, with one event per month, and concludes in October with Naturalment Poesia, an experiential event dedicated to words, sharing everyday life and poems.

But if there's a common thread running through the Convent, it's music. Whether it's a percussion workshop by a group from Quebec who are doing a residency, or a jam session Weekend afternoons while the children play in the courtyard. "What makes this community project different are the children, the best thing about it," says Mireia Cardús, an architect and set designer, who has just become a mother. Driss recalls arriving in Pontós with two young children and now has five. "We don't have a children's program, but they are always welcome," she adds, glancing towards the area with a trampoline.

During these years of Mutte, the Convent space has adapted to these changes, multiplying the spaces where people can listen to and experience music, where the main goal is to "break down the barrier between the audience and the stage" and promote the "post-concert" community.

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