Loop Barcelona to pay tribute to video art pioneers

Revising the past to understand the present and the future. That phrase summaries perfectly the philosophy of the 15th edition of the Barcelona Loop Festival, a leading international festival focussed on images in motion and which this year is paying special attention to the main creators of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, including names like Eugènia Balcells, David Hall, Beryl Korot, Chip Lord and Mary Lucier, alongside key figures like Andy Warhol, Martha Rosler, Tony Oursler, Antoni Miralda and Robert Cahen who have monographic exhibitions devoted to them. That makes this festival a fantastic opportunity to review the work of pioneers in video creation in Spain, who come together in an exhibition entitled (Re)visionats, (Re)visitants at Arts Santa Mònica.

But the festival, which is scheduled to run from 18 to 27 May, has plenty more to offer, icnluding performances, conferences and installations which, on this occasion, will be branching out into hitherto unexplored areas of the city, such as Cine Avinguda de la Llum, the subsoil beneath Carrer de Pelai, and Parking Ortigosa. In parallel, from 25 to 26 May, Loop Fair will bring together artists, gallery owners, collectors, curators, institutional representatives, critics and international researchers related to the world of images in motion at Hotel Catalonia Ramblas, while on the same dates Loop Talks will be offering a programme of talks and conferences on contemporary video archaeology through Videotaped, a debate forum that aims to present a contemporary reading of the early days of video creation.

To find out more from the main festival programme, click here.