From October 13th to 18th, the streets and squares of Barcelona will be the stage for a new edition of the Biennial of Thought. Driven by the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona, this annual event transforms the city into a major forum for conversation and reflection on the key challenges of the contemporary world. This year, under the theme ‘Unleashing the Present’, the aim is to foster a critical look at current dynamics.
The program will feature over a hundred participants, including thinkers, writers, artists, activists, and creators. Among the notable names are Alessandro Baricco, Lilian Thuram, Angélica Liddell, Mariana Enríquez, Wendy Brown, Felwine Sarr, Patrick Radden Keefe, José Luis Guerín, Fina Birulés, Jean-Philippe Kindler, Xiaolu Guo, Juan Mayorga, Maryam Madjidi, and Chantal Maillard.
Topics such as the crisis of democracies, contemporary conflicts, inequalities, migrations, urban transformations, hate speech, identity construction, and changes in lifestyles will be addressed with the city as a transversal axis. The program is framed within a context marked by political transformations, international conflicts, climate emergency, technological mutations, and social tensions.
The curatorial team for this edition includes Marina Garcés and Albert Lladó (coordinators of the Escola de Pensament), Elisabet Goula (head of debates at the CCCB), Rafael Vilasanjuan (director of ISGlobal), and Mireia Calafell and Berta Subirats (directors of La Sullivan).
The main venues will be the CCCB, Plaça Joan Coromines, La Model, and Plaça Major de Nou Barris. The program will also extend to other spaces such as the Hivernacle of Parc de la Ciutadella, the civic centers La Sedeta and Casa Orlandai, and Plaça de les Glòries.
