48 posters and 48 ways of understanding Barcelona’s Fiestas Mayores. That is the premise of the exhibition “Moltes Mercès,” which traces the history of the festival through all the official posters from 1979 to 2026. The courtyard of the Museu Marès, in Plaça de Sant Iu, is hosting this exhibition through October 12; admission is free.
The exhibition presents the 48 pieces as a journey through the city’s visual, cultural, and social history: each poster is the result of a free artistic interpretation of La Mercè, making the collection a record of aesthetic trends and social changes over the decades. Among the artists are names such as Antoni Tàpies, Javier Mariscal, Jaume Plensa, Malika Favre, Joan Fontcuberta, and Cinta Vidal, who created this year’s poster.
Hours vary depending on the day of the week:
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Sundays and holidays: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
A book to understand the evolution of Barcelona
To coincide with the exhibition, Barcelona Llibres has published *Moltes Mercès*. This book of the same name is the first comprehensive compilation of these official posters in book form. With texts by Julià Guillamon, the volume places each piece in its artistic and urban context and analyzes the consolidation of the “artist-designed poster” model, in which creators freely reinterpret the symbols of the celebration.
Together, the exhibition and the book offer a dual perspective: the evolution of La Mercè’s visual language and, at the same time, the transformation of the image Barcelona has projected of itself throughout the democratic era.
