What is there
to see?

From the outside, the museum looks rather unimpressive – if you take a look at the other buildings on Passeig de Gracia… Then you walk through a long tunnel of light and then have to wait.

During this time, you can view a work by the well-known street artist TVBOY. It is a graffiti of Messi and Ronaldo kissing, called “Love is blind”. The football arch-enemies could often be seen in the city on various pillars or electricity boxes, but now they have a place in the museum!
If you look closely, you can also spot a book and a rose in the picture – a reference to the Catalan holiday of Sant Jordi, which is celebrated every year on 23 April. The first time you saw this graffiti was also on Sant Jordi on Passeig de Gracia.

The waiting time makes sense, by the way. This is because the museum controls the number of visitors so that the rooms don’t get too full and you can take great photos.

Then it’s our turn and we enter the museum through a keyhole.

After a short introduction via headphones, we move on to the next artist room: the Japanese artist Mina Hamada created the Xivarri room. And here it gets COLOURFUL! Xivarri means ‘noise’ in Catalan. It’s not loud here, but the colours literally ‘scream’ at us. The space, the title and the colours are a tribute to the folk festivals of Catalonia. Dragons, giants, castles, street decorations, music, theatre, dance and colours … All this is to be enjoyed as a celebration of life.

Afterwards, we walk through dark corridors like down a rabbit hole – passing some giant heads along the way. Capgrossos (literally ‘big heads’) are a traditional form of giant dolls that are particularly common in Catalonia, Spain. They are often worn at folk festivals and parades and are an important part of Catalan culture. Why not try them out – stand under them and take a photo! Did the artist Carles Piera do a good job?

Continue through the rabbit warren to the golden ‘Caganer’. The tradition of the caganer is an integral part of Catalonia. Its time comes at Christmas. Normally, he is dressed in a white shirt, black (dropped) trousers and a red hat. Nowadays, however, it comes in all shapes and sizes – from Queen to Messi to Freddy Mercury or Obama. The name ‘Caganer’ comes from the Catalan verb ‘cagar’, which means ‘to do a business’ or ‘to poop’. The figure is hidden in the cot at Christmas. It is said to symbolise fertility, nature and the renewal of life. Today he is an icon!

Here, the Caganer is oversized and in gold. It is again the artist Carles Piera who is ‘responsible’ for it.

In the very next room, there is another unique Catalan tradition: dancing eggs! The ‘L’ou com balla’ by Enric Planas are actually only to be found on Corpus Christi in Barcelona. So you’re in luck! Here the eggs dance for you every day of the year! The eggs stand for the fight for survival and perseverance and can be found on this special holiday in the courtyards in the Gothic centre – especially at the Frederic Mares Museum.

I will briefly introduce you to three more rooms, but there is much more to see. And the VR glasses are a must – because this is where the traditions of the ‘correfoc’ (fire walking) and the ‘castells’ (human towers) are presented! And afterwards, you should definitely go to the toilet and ‘not’ press the button 😉

What I really liked was the dance hall. It’s a reference to a concert-dance hall: Razzmatazz. They also curated the music, which was composed by Yozy, Artur M Puga and TTRRACCAA. The highlight here is that you can put on headphones and then dance. Nothing new so far… right?
BUT: when you go onto the platform, you and your dance are projected onto the surrounding walls! At least I’ve never seen that before. What a great thing!

The Esclat room by ONIONLAB is nothing new at first… Even Casa Batlló next door has a cube like this, with mirrors at the top and bottom and a digital audiovisual installation running around it. BUT: I think this one is preferable to the Casa Batllo. Because the connection to Barcelona is much clearer here!

And finally, a comparison. The F.O.C. room from Vitamin Studio. This is nothing new and we can also find it in the Moco Museum in Barcelona. The mirrored room is decorated all over with strings of lights that go on and off like a throb, become brighter, change colours … and are intended to remind us of fire, which burns away the old and creates space for the new.
Perhaps as a reference to the Sant Juan holiday, which is celebrated from 23 to 24 June. Here, old furniture is burnt on ‘funeral pyres’ and a new year is ushered in by jumping into the sea. But that’s just my interpretation…

You can find out more about the special holidays in Catalonia here 🙂