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 By Eva Shakouri In Spain, Mallorca is the city with the largest number of art galleries as a proportion of its population. The city centre alone, gathers over 60 spaces dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art, all within walking distance from one another. Scattered all over the rest of the island, are another 50 or so spaces dedicated exclusively to showing the work of living local and international artists.
History The island of Mallorca has been a hub of cultural and commercial activity throughout history due to its privileged geographic location - in the Mediterranean sea, flanked by Spain on the West, Italy on the East, North Africa on the South and France on the North. Traditionally, the island has been a haven for artists and intellectuals with key personalities from all over the world coming to settle in and enjoy the unique lifestyle and scenery Mallorca offers. Collecting and acting as patron to the arts has historically been an important aspect of Mallorca´s social and cultural life, an interest which has been passed on from generation to generation. Young Mallorquins of the 21st Century tend to be well travelled, multilingual and highly educated, with a keen interest in the latest developments in contemporary arts and culture, a feature which generates an unusually dynamic market for emerging visual arts. Demographic structure The islands airport is one of the largest and most modern in Europe, which means flying here from most European capital cities takes a maximum of two hours. This also means the population is a fluctuating, eclectic mix of races, tongues and social idiosyncrasies. Travel is an important characteristic of the local lifestyle; the local resident population of 1 million fluctuates radically throughout the year due to the 11 million visitors the island receives annually from across the world. Social dynamics In Mallorca, visiting exhibitions and attending exhibition openings are very much part of the social calendar. The high point of this is without a doubt, the Nit de l’Art (The Night for Art), a much celebrated yearly event which marks the start of the arts season. The event takes place on the last Thursday of September, with preview parties held simultaneously by all exhibition spaces, galleries and public museums. Effectively it’s an open-to-all party which lasts until early hours of the morning. Because most of the spaces are within walking distance from each other, and the weather in September is still mild, art lovers, artists, collectors, journalists and the “beautiful people” take to the streets strolling from exhibition to exhibition enjoying all kinds of shows, performances, and parallel activities being held across the Casco Antiguo, theold part of the city. Amongst art lovers, La Nit de L’art is one of Europe’s best kept secrets. In 2006, Mallorca will be celebrating its 10th edition of the Nit de l´Art. This year, it will be taking place on Thursday 21st of September. For a copy of the guide and exhibition programmes, contact the tourist office at the Casal Solleric, or download it from here. |
