We are a country that love their culture in the broadest sense; we are a country that loves the arts in its broadest sense, from opera to circus, passing through stage design. Theater, music, sculpture, painting, etc., are part of those aspects of our culture that we like and demand that we enhance. And despite this, and quite surprisingly, we do not have any large centers for research, innovation and transfer of the arts, despite thinking that it is a key piece of our reason for being. The university and. In particular, the University of Barcelona is involved in the social and cultural reality of the country and obviously cannot live in isolation from the need for protection, research and dissemination of culture and the arts. That is why we created the University campus of the Arts Can Ricart.
We will speak several times about Can Ricart, not in its long version, like the title of this article. In its short version, simply Can Ricart. And we will hear about it, since many institutions bet and work so that it becomes the most important university campus in southern Europe dedicated to the arts. As simple as this, and yet so relevant.
Can Ricart occupies a space similar to about four blocks from the Eixample of Barcelona. To locate it geographically, it is close to the axis of Pere IV street and it was one of the vital points of industrial Barcelona, where there were a series of emblematic factories of the city such as La Escocesa, which was a reference for chemical products for textiles. The buildings are underused and in a clear deterioration situation, which does not correspond to its history or the needs of a neighborhood like Poblenou.
A few years ago, the Barcelona City Council and the University of Barcelona agreed to convert this space into the Campus of the Arts. This initiative has been interrupted by several factors, among which we must highlight: the economic crisis accentuated by the pandemic, the archaeological-based work that forces us to go at a slow and safe pace and also, it must be recognized, due to excessive slowness in the project works.
Now we start another phase and both the project and the commitment of the institutions begin to work. The Can Ricart Arts campus has made the first big step: all the institutions involved, both political and academic, have signed the agreement to start working. The Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, and the ‘Conselleries’ de Cultura, Educació e Investigació i Universitats, in addition to the twenty-three academic institutions that have training and research offerings in the field of the arts, we are committed to bringing this project ahead. Indeed, twenty-three institutions totally or partially dedicated to the teaching of the arts (music, theater, dance, painting, sculpture, design, architecture, etc.) and, without missing anyone, we have coordinated to do the best of our part to that Barcelona is a reference point inevitable when talking about cultural activities related to knowledge and science.
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Other cities and universities have done it before and Barcelona and Catalonia should have taken this step forward for a long time. Background such as the Art Campus of Montpellier or that of McGill University, in Canada, are important examples to follow and analyze to be able to learn and improve their experiences. Our project will begin with the architectural proposals competition to have a starting point, since so much accumulated talent in artistic matters available will value such an emblematic space that, for now, is too forgotten.
Shaping Can Ricart has been a taheavy, complicated area, often devastating and too focused on seeking financing, without being clear about what the objective will be and how it will be developed. This step, this signature, have laid the first solid stone in the future campus, a necessary, essential, unquestionable space and of obligatory support for the country. Because, after all, a country that loves itself is a country that appreciates and stimulates culture. Can Ricart will be a firm and shared bet in this direction. May this first step be the first of many.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com