Nou Barris district, especially its northern neighbourhoods, becomes an open-air urban art lab from today. Artists will create up to 17 large-format works over the coming weeks in public spaces across Torre Baró, Ciutat Meridiana, Trinitat Nova and Roquetes. But there’s a catch: the council now insists attracting tourists was never the plan, despite official documents saying exactly that.
District councillor Xavier Marcé made the announcement official on Wednesday, rejecting any tourism intentions. “I want to clarify that absolutely not, this project has nothing to do with bringing tourists. Nothing we do in this district has tourism as an objective,” Marcé stated. He said they haven’t configured any route to follow the artworks or put public tourism management tools on the table.
What the council said before
However, residents’ associations from the affected neighbourhoods issued a joint statement last year demanding the programme be stopped. The 838,000 euro project, they argued, wasn’t a priority for one of Barcelona’s poorest areas and carried real risks. “We know, we’ve seen and it’s been studied that when tourism is encouraged, residents end up leaving because they can’t afford the increased cost of living that arrives with tourists’ rolling suitcases in our streets,” the statement read.
Residents weren’t making this up. The council’s own tender document for the project clearly expressed the desire to attract visitors, literally highlighting tourism-related words in bold. “The main objective of this project would be the creation of spaces in the territory where the presence of urban art works facilitates the attraction of tourism and makes citizens aware of areas and zones of the city that are not part of the usual circuits,” the document stated.
Shifting narratives over the years
Back in 2022, Councillor Marcé himself defended the 41 million euros from European funds for “tourism sustainability”, saying these projects would allow “proper administration of the city’s tourist flows”. The council’s public statement also insisted the idea was to “encourage the deconcentration of tourist activity by betting on new imaginaries”.
Even this April, the council published an evaluation document positioning “Urban Art Laboratory” with a clear first objective: “Position Nou Barris in the city’s tourist and cultural imaginary”. Now, though, the council emphasises the project’s connection to residents’ “sense of belonging and identity”.
What’s actually happening
The project involves up to five local schools and high schools creating murals. Meanwhile, residents will encounter a collection of facade paintings, street sculptures and light installations at Nou Barris Library and Municipal Sports Centre Turó. Murals should last at least four years, whilst sculptural and light projects will stay for at least two years.
Artists were selected by an expert committee mixing local and international creators. A joint venture of Folch Studio, Barcelona Events Musicals and Rebobinart won the public tender to execute NOU Sentit Urbà. The works will roll out gradually over the next three months.
Ironically, one artwork will actually critique mass tourism around Barcelona. Designer and photographer Octavi Serra plans to install a sculpture titled: “Warning: area under touristification process”.
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