Grec 2024 presentation

A horizon is a long, broad line, but one that marks a direction. In 2017, we embarked on a journey with the aim of having a conversation and discovering new ways of looking at the world, because, as a Barcelona festival, we wanted to find artists who would provide answers to our city’s questions through their creations. The journey initially took us towards the sun, to Greece, and has taken us along the Silk Route, to the English-speaking world, to Latin America, Africa, Europe ... to humanity. We have reaffirmed that, culturally, we are the result of all the routes taken by the people who have travelled over the centuries, those who came before us, and of all the relationships we have forged there or the stories they have told us. After all, what is culture if not a collection of knowledge and shared projects? As we said last year, group consciousness underscores and enriches individual qualities and the future which we inevitably have to imagine collectively. However, we still have one final journey to go on, the most committed, as Matsuo Bashô put it, ‘towards the narrow road to the interior’.

So, the Grec Festival 2024 will have a subjective component and, as a ‘coda’, you’ll find artists who represent the portrait of a generation of Barcelona talent, accompanied by masters who have influenced us and a personal commitment to new generations. As a programmer, I have spent half my life searching for performing arts talent, and I still wouldn’t be able to say exactly what it is, but I think I know it when I see it. And this talent has grown, in part, thanks to the ongoing support of the festival and other agents in the city. But beyond them, there are people with whom Barcelona has established trusting friendships, and this will be the unifying thread of this year’s Grec: artists who invite other artists, audiences who share shows with their friends, and relationships that are perhaps born in theatre seats and become the preamble to new shared stories.

Over the years, we have tried to put together a programme that is committed to both the local and international arts scene, which has helped to make this festival an exceptional time for the city. We are reaffirming our commitment to talent, and we hope that this year’s Grec reawakens our curiosity to discover and learn more about the new generations of creators.

Francesc Casadesús
Director
GREC Festival de Barcelona