Everything is ready in Barcelona and L'Hospitalet to kick off the fifteenth edition of the emerging art festival Art Nou, which this year will take place from today until September 3. The association of contemporary art galleries ArtBarcelona has presented the program for an edition that is expected to be a "record," because beyond celebrating fifteen editions, they will also double the number of participating artists and spaces.
Over the coming weeks, fifty exhibitions by 110 emerging artists will be on display. All of this will be part of a program that will unfold in 22 art galleries, 5 cultural institutions, and 22 independent spaces in the two metropolitan cities.
The festival begins a new stage
The Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona (MACBA) hosted the presentation of this new edition. In it, the director of Art Nou, Pilar Cruz, celebrated that in the year of its 15th anniversary, the festival begins a new stage marked by growth and the expansion of its artistic ecosystem, consolidating itself as one of the main platforms for supporting, showcasing, and professionalizing emerging artists.
The inauguration of the festival will take place this Thursday in the participating galleries of Barcelona, while in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat it will kick off this Friday with a special performance by Mourae, a non-binary Galician artist residing in Hangar. Their proposal will establish a dialogue between contemporary creation and the oral and mythological traditions of the territories, in an action with an important musical dimension conceived to attract new audiences and expand meeting spaces between contemporary art and citizens.
With various parallel activities
As usual, the program will offer parallel activities including guided tours of galleries, meetings with artists, inaugurations, commented visits, and professional activities.
The organization also highlights that in 2026, alliances with universities, schools, and training programs linked to visual arts have been strengthened. For this reason, this edition also includes the participation of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona, the Master's in Artistic Production and Research of the UB, La Salle, BAU, and La Massana, which will present various exhibition projects and specific activities.
The festival's territorial scope is also expanded, reinforcing its presence in neighborhoods such as Les Corts, Sant Andreu, El Clot, Sarrià, and other points in Barcelona to contribute to "decentralizing artistic activity and bringing contemporary art closer to new audiences," says Cruz.
A program that reflects diversity of approaches
At the Art Nou festival, collaborative artistic exhibitions, investigations into contemporary architecture and materialities, the observation of everyday elements and their transformative capacity in contexts of uncertainty, as well as projects that critically analyze resource exploitation, the impact of tourism, and the construction of collective memory, have a prominent presence. "Overall, the program reflects the diversity of approaches, languages, and sensibilities that characterize a new generation of artists committed to the social, cultural, and environmental challenges of our time," says the festival director.
A performance by Alicia Val will close the festival
The closing will take place on September 3 at La Capella, where a performance by artist Alicia Val will be presented, programmed in collaboration with Club9.
This year, the professional recognitions promoted by the festival and various collaborating entities are maintained: the Art Nou Award, granted by La Capella and endowed with 2,000 euros for the winning artist; the Úniques Foundation will acquire a work by a participating artist for its collection; the Hotel Wittmore will select artists to develop exhibitions in its spaces; Art-O-Rama will reinforce the international projection of the participating galleries; and SWAB will maintain its support program for one of the spaces linked to the festival.
