International Announcement of Manifesta 15 Host City in 2024

Fotografies nocturnes de la ciutat (c) Laura Guerrero.

Manifesta 15
2024
https://manifesta.org

Manifesta 15 Host City 2024
On the 27th of November 2020 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, the Board of Manifesta reviewed the leading bids for the future editions of Manifesta. The Bids, presented by Catalan Capital of Barcelona, and ten metropolitan cities in Catalonia, Spain and a city in Germany, were of an astounding high quality.

In light of this and in line with Manifesta’s transformation to ‘slow down’ its practices into long term, more sustainable activities, and to acknowledge the power of a more bottom-up citizen generated energy, Manifesta has taken the decision to accept both of the presented Bids. Manifesta is proud to announce that for Manifesta 15, taking place in 2024, Manifesta’s Board has selected the City of Barcelona and ten Metropolitan cities in Catalonia, Spain.

The decision to select Host Cities a long time in advance, in order to understand future strategies, is a manner in which Manifesta can rethink alternative models of cultural institutionalism in a post Covid society. Manifesta strategy continues to be focused on how art and culture can fight polarization and division. The Bid of Barcelona aligns with the mission of Manifesta, as it seeks to build upon the common objective of involving citizens, different entities and groups, in the common task of rethinking our world through artistic creativity and social commitment.

“This experimental process looks to make Barcelona a laboratory for the creative design of artistic prototypes that drive a new cultural institutionalism. It seeks to explore a structural overhaul of the relationship between contemporary arts and territorial and community contexts, the systematic incorporation of arts in educational settings that promotes critical thinking and imagination, the democratization of the governance of cultural institutions themselves and the inclusion of artists into productive ecosystems outside the art world.” Quote from Barcelona’s bid

Manifesta 15 in 2024 and Manifesta 16 in 2026
Manifesta is therefore honoured to announce that the 15th edition of the biennial will take place in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain in 2024, whilst for Manifesta 16 in 2026 the organisation is in conversation with a German city, for which the final decision will be announced later this month.

Manifesta is delighted that after the nomination of the two Host Cities, conversations about their mutual ambitions have already started and their aligned strategies will published in the near future.

On the 3rd of December 2020 at 16.30, the Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, the Councillor for Culture, Education, Science and Community, Joan Subirats and the Director of Manifesta, Hedwig Fijen will come together to publicly announce their collaboration.