‘Vallès: manufacturing pasts, manufacturing futures’ at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge
An exhibition that explores the proletarian memory of what is known as Barcelona’s “red belt”.
The Vallès region has a strong tradition in the history of the working class. The proletarian movement in what is known as Barcelona’s “red belt” still bears the mark of a time when industry was the main driving force of the economy in this area. Artist Claudio Zulian wanted to roam this memory of the Vallès region to understand where it is headed in the not so distant future, in an exhibition called Vallès: manufacturing pasts, manufacturing futures. Starting from the factory as a symbolic, ideological and social setting, the artist explores work and living spaces, material heritage and emigrant worldviews, the notion of community shaped around certain focal points and perpetually being redefined. At the same time, he looks at the horizons yet to come, the codes that have changed and will change within a transnational economy led by the elite of financial capitalism. The exhibition, which the artist started working on in 2017, is the result of a complex process of dialogue and cooperation among four of the town councils in the Vallès: Cerdanyola del Vallès, Ripollet, Sabadell and Terrassa. The process was documented in several shows in these towns over the years, culminating in the exhibition that is opening now.
Vallès: manufacturing pasts, manufacturing futures will be on from 8 June to 29 September, Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 am to 8 pm at La Virreina Centre de la Imatge on La Rambla.
Like all exhibitions in this space, it is free and open to the public. More information is available on the La Virreina website.