It is no secret that Las Ramblas are not from Barcelona. It’s been a long time since the the most barcelonian walk in Barcelona no barceloneses, and maybe that’s why many of us often forget that at the end of the street, arriving at Colón, there is a great museum of contemporary art that, lately, is doing a great job to return Las Ramblas to the city.
Looking at his exhibitions on tourism, gentrification or racism is a good way to connect with the city and his latest intervention , “Teló” is now, a way to meet again with that Ramblas that one day was a meeting place, of passage and also of stay for the people of Barcelona.
The most privileged terrace on Las Ramblas is free of charge
Older Barcelonians will remember some chairs near Plaça Catalunya that were rented by the hour and that were used for that, to sit on Las Ramblas with nothing else to do but watch the time and the walk pass before our eyes. On the other hand, you don’t have to be old to know that the terraces on Las Ramblas are inaccessible, and that sitting on them is purposely putting your foot in a tourist trap.
That is why Teló, the installation by Marta Monlleó Rius, Eduard Rodríguez i Martínez and Jaume Xicola, is so moving. This awning is a temporary installation designed to soften the climatic conditions of the terrace during the hottest months of the year.
But also, with its loungers, the space becomes a privileged and free access viewpoint over the Ramblas, a place to be without having to do, a space of coexistence in a street that has ceased to be so.
The installation can be seen from afar: a light red structure covered by a succession of ropes of the same color that generate a shaded space that mitigates the weather conditions of the terrace. The proposal, selected through a public call, wants to pay tribute to the seafaring past and the Raval’s own theatrical scene.
Climate sustainable center
In order to adapt the use of the center to the climate emergency, the Santa Mònica, together with the ICEC’s Plan C* Culture for Climate, has also promoted a process of self-assessment and improvement aimed at designing specific goals and objectives to develop the activity as an arts center with the utmost respect for the environment and energy efficiency.
In recognition of this , the center has received this month the Environmental Quality Assurance Distinction (DGQA) in the category of visual arts spaces and cultural centers, awarded by the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda. This label is a Catalan eco-labeling system that officially identifies and certifies that certain products or services exceed certain environmental quality requirements beyond those established as mandatory by current regulations.