Eugenia Balcells, who died this Sunday at the age of 82 from cancer, said that all her work revolves around two questions: Who do we want to be? And what kind of world do we want? "These are the two essential questions for humanity at this moment. And one is absolutely linked to the other: we cannot say what kind of world we want if we cannot say who we are. And we must answer this question for all the men and women of the planet." He explained in an interview on the ARAShe explored many avenues and, from very different perspectives and mediums, tried to provide, if not an answer, at least points of reference from which to reconsider and observe them. In retrospect, her work always considered the multiplicity of perspectives, whether by showcasing the stereotypes in which the media portrayed women, in pieces from the 1970s that anticipated many later reflections and critiques, or by reflecting with light and sound the beauty of the universe's complexity in pieces that have amazed scientists.

When he died in November six years ago, Toni Serra *) Abu Ali —as he signed his name to show that he belonged to two worlds: Catalan and Moroccan— was in the midst of one of the most ambitious projects of his career. He had won a Multiverso grant to travel to Iran and work on, broadly speaking, light and its importance in Iranian Sufism, of which he was very knowledgeable. He had already spent many hours recording images and sounds of the country's landscapes, but he was preparing another project when, during a technical stop in Barcelona, he learned of the illness that would eventually claim his life at the age of 59. That material remained unfinished, although he had edited some fragments and also left behind draft scripts. Now, using these materials, video artist Alessandro Quaranta and musician Barbara Held have created a possible, yet equally provisional and revisable, interpretation entitled Journey to the light They present today, Saturday, to Abelló Museum from Mollet del Vallès.

"If a woman decides to be one, she must choose the path of responsibility or that of submission. It wasn't like that before; before, everything was done for a woman. Not anymore. Now she must choose her attitude toward life." This statement by the writer and politician Maria Aurèlia Capmany is surprising. What does it mean to decide to be a woman? It's a warning. We must consider the context of that time, not just today. Capmany wrote this in 1977. for the photobook Antifemina —the origin of the exhibition at the Disseny Hub Barcelona (Dhub), open until January 25, which prompted this article—, women were just beginning to believe they had rights, that is, that they were people who could decide for themselves what they wanted to do in life. Adultery was punishable, as was abortion, and feminism was demanding things so basic that they would now make us ashamed.

The first time we talked about creating the special artist diary that you can find at newsstands this Sunday, September 28th, was back in April. Antoni Muntadas (Barcelona, ​​​​1942) had just returned from São Paulo, where he had opened the exhibition Public Place at the SESC Pompéia cultural center. But over the course of these months of discussions, he returned to Brazil and went to Madrid—where he presented the exhibition. About Asia at the Casa de la Moneda–, has passed through Lisbon –where in May he opened an exhibition at the Cristina Guerra gallery– and has also made trips to Pamplona –where in October he opens Other fears– and in Shanghai, where he will present an exhibition at the Museu del Vidre in November. Of course, he's been making stops in Barcelona; he's just returned from New York, and he'll soon be off to Valencia, where on November 25th he'll receive an honorary degree from the University of Valencia and the following day he'll inaugurate an exhibition at the Escuela Superior de Arquitectura. Arguably, these are his two most stable bases, although talking about stability for a nomadic artist like him is complicated. We had our last conversation while he was resting for a few weeks in Cadaqués, a place that is part of his history and to which he keeps returning. And the first long conversation took place at his premises in Hospitalet de Llobregat, a former industrial building where he has set up his archive-warehouse. This interview is an edited summary of the various conversations.

Looking is one thing, seeing is another, and perceiving is another. These are three stages that determine how we interpret what is before us. Antoni Muntadas (Barcelona, ​​1942) always encourages the public to reach the third stage because this perception, which leads to the discovery of something new that was not apparently visible, is what allows us to enjoy knowledge and action, what gives us tools to interpret the world around us, and what also opens up new paths of creativity and knowledge. That's why we wanted to begin this supplement with two images that reflect the artist's desire to "make the invisible visible." On the left, the "Look, see, perceive"; above, the "Attention, perception requires involvement", a phrase he began using in 1999 on all kinds of media - stickers, posters, postcards, signs, billboards... - and which he has presented to dozens of cities around the world with their corresponding translation. Which is not always easy. In fact, it is a work that is part of the On Translation series, started in 1995: to translate, to interpret, in short, to understand each other, even beyond languages and cultures. And, for that very reason, the phrase is above all a call to the viewer to get involved, to make an effort to understand and participate. Just as to understand a physics or biology text you have to study a little, in art too you have to be interested and look for where things come from. In all things, whatever they may be, if you want to know more you have to get involved."

From Greek amphorae to industrial containers, from Zheng He to James Cook, from sirens to the kraken... Everything you want to know about the sea, the fables and truths of what humanity has been able to know, has been explained in an entertaining and informative way by the Italian historian and writer Ales History of the Sea: Myth, Culture, and Science (Ático de los Libros, 2024). Although it has 665 pages, it is an addictive book, which can be read in chronological order—from the first single-celled organisms that seem to have managed to live in the first sulfurous ocean 4 billion years ago to the yellow rubber duckies that have ended up on the great plastic "continent" that chapters depending on the reader's interest in pirates, explorers, the relationship between walrus hunting and the discovery of Greenland, or, for example, the great naval battles in history.

There were almost a thousand of us, which is quite a lot. Everyone was happy and eager to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Fundació Miró. This Sunday there will be an open house –starting at six in the morning!– with many activities that add to the enticing appeal of visiting this emblematic building, in a privileged location on Montjuïc and featuring a collection of works by one of the greatest artists the city has ever produced. On Wednesday night, the retrospective exhibition, both moving and somewhat mischievous, opened in a festive event where hundreds of people, young and old, remembered and celebrated this half-century since modernity finally made its home in Barcelona.

An abandoned sofa in the middle of the street, a piano that shelters childhood dreams, a private visit to the Altamira caves, a blue blazer that makes her see that red is a dangerous color towards the north... The stories collected by Eulàlia Bosch (Barcelona, ​​​​1949) in In the land of wonders (Angle Editorial) were written at vital moments and in very distant places over the years, but as the author explained during the book presentation on Tuesday at La Central, they can't exactly be considered an autobiography, neither vital nor intellectual, although it's inevitable to do so. "I didn't think of the book as a biography, which would be impossible for me to do, but rather I aim to explain how everything ends up becoming a story for me. This happens to me and to many other people, but the truth is that this is how I relate to myself, telling myself stories based on any everyday event, and that's how I am." From those stories she was writing and accumulating in a drawer, this selection emerged, which she initially didn't even think of publishing.

Ricardo Feriche takes out his phone and, excited, shows a photo. "It was the day of the presentation, in the same place as the cover photo, and look, exactly the same image." Sure enough, two women dressed the same way walk through the arcades of Barcelona's Plaza Reial with a glamour equal to that of the book's cover. Barcelona. Both images are interesting because they show, on the one hand, the perspective of the curator and editor of the publication on a city that he sees as feminine and the images that represent it, and on the other, to what extent there are places and ways of being in the city that remain unchanged over time.

"This building is like a Bach fugue." Anna Bofill means it, and she will explain it later, sitting on one of the benches in one of the four blue courtyards of the building she helped build from the Taller de Arquitectura. We are in Walden 7, this great mass in Sant Just Desvern that stands out from the highway and most people know only from hearing about it or from photographs. It's cold, and the interior is somber and imposing. It's no wonder some compare the building to a cathedral, perhaps Baroque like the musician, because in these ground-floor communal spaces there is a clear—and perhaps too obvious—desire for monumentality. But they achieve their effect. They are imposing, they fascinate. The apartments will be another matter later, which are of different types but in many cases cozy and, surprisingly, bright.

There was a time when I had the unrealistic fantasy of a small house where almost all culture could be enjoyed through small devices that would offer all the music, film or literature in the world. Nowadays it is possible to do so. Supposedly, in a digital world, apart from artistic objects or for very specific cases, shelves would not be needed, but with only a computer, a mobile phone, quality speakers, a screen and an e-book you could have everything within reach. Now I don't think so anymore. And not for nostalgic reasons such as, for example, the pleasure generated by the smell and touch of paper. No. Now I think it is definitely time to put everything away to safeguard the contents as they are now. At least for the moment, until we see how things evolve.

He only had a primary school certificate, but his humble origins did not prevent him from obtaining a doctorate at the Sorbonne, despite not having taken any courses. Nor did it prevent him from being a renowned writer and critic of avant-garde art and architecture in France. In addition, Michel Ragon (Marseille, 1924 – Suresnes, 2020) was an interesting and prolific scholar of anarchism, as demonstrated in the historical novel The memory of the vaincus (1990), The memory of the defeated in the Spanish translation published by La Oveja Roja in 2010.