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Nilak celebrates five years of itinerant culture and community roots in Terra Alta

The nilak cultural project commemorates half a year of presence in the region with positive feedback and significant impact data.

Traveling circus tent of the nilak project in Terra Alta.
IA

Traveling circus tent of the nilak project in Terra Alta.

The nilak cultural project marks five years of activity in Terra Alta, establishing itself as a traveling performance space that promotes access to contemporary arts and community integration.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the inauguration of the nilak project in Vilalba dels Arcs. This initiative, which brings contemporary performing arts to Catalan regions lacking stable venues, set up its tent in Terra Alta in November 2021 and has maintained its presence there ever since.
Nilak operates as a temporary public theater, featuring an equipped circus tent with a capacity for 200 people, suitable for professional exhibitions. Beyond itinerant programming, it functions as an integral cultural device with a temporary presence, aiming to generate structural impacts on the local cultural ecosystem, strengthen community dynamics, and promote territorial cohesion.
The president of the Consell Comarcal of Terra Alta, Joan Aubanell, has highly praised the project, stating that "nilak has proven to be much more than a traveling cultural initiative: it has become a true instrument of territorial transformation." He highlighted its contribution to reducing inequalities in cultural access, particularly in small municipalities.
Oriol Escursell, a member of nilak, expressed satisfaction with the first five years, noting that the project has spurred other initiatives like the 'Performing Arts in Schools of Terra Alta' project, giving meaning to the work done. He recalled that ninety companies and artists have performed under the tent.
Between 2021 and 2025, 59 performances (40 circus, 8 theater, 6 music, 5 dance) by 45 companies were presented, with an average attendance of 94%. Of these, 17 were for schoolchildren. Additionally, 26 workshops, 5 talks, 8 gastronomic tastings, 8 historical visits, and 2 nature routes were conducted, with significant involvement from local individuals and entities.
The total expenditure on performing arts during this period amounted to 202,445 euros, allocated to performances (45.1%), staff (33.2%), and artists (21.6%). Aubanell emphasized the impact on the local fabric, stating that the project 'takes root and involves it'.
The 'Performing Arts in Schools of Terra Alta' project, in its third edition this 2025-2026 academic year, reaches approximately 800 primary and early childhood education students. This initiative, developed jointly with nilak and supported by the Department of Culture, uses culture as a pedagogical tool.
Nilak has created educational materials such as a traveling library and 'La Capsa,' a book with eighteen activities for classroom creative process work, aligned with the educational curriculum. The cost of this educational initiative was 12,000 euros, covered by the Consell Comarcal.

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