Park Güell; La Sagrada Família; La Rambla; the beach; the booze; the stag parties and the selfie sticks. Guiris Go Home! Or so reads the occasional scribbling you’ll see on walls around Catalunya’s famous capital – guiri is a byword for foreigners, you can work out the rest. The anti-tourism shtick isn’t at fever pitch in Barcelona, but an undercurrent can be felt – not least in its old town neighbourhoods where locals crave peace from drunken Ryan Air imports – and it’s a visible example of how a city steeped in history is at odds with its cosmopolitan image. The economic crisis is still harshly felt in Barcelona, there are evictions and protests; there are people who walk horses through its streets; there are staunchly working class citizens; there is heart. But what will future generations see of the city in 2014? Selfies outside Gaudí’s masterpieces. Some heart.
Initiated by the city council’s cultural arm, Objective ► BCN. We portray the city sought to enrich the minefield of social-obsessed photography with a new wave of documentary photographers keen to capture their city in their way. Almost 200 registered for the project, and after a series of workshops and master classes, the participants were sent on their way to document their neighbourhoods; their people; their Barcelona. Currently showing at Centre de la Imatge, and at various civic centres around the city, Objective ► BCN‘s output is a compelling chronicle of the Barcelona that exists behind the guidebooks – from neighbourhoods that feel forgotten to behind the doors that no guiri would open. Packed with emotion, this brilliant social project lifts the lid on the Catalan capital’s core and showcases countless talents behind the lens. Showing now until 25 January, the project’s website also archives the works.
© Olivia Paton
© Christian Riedeberger
© Alfons Sánchez, Sandra Faura i Jordi Benítez
© Marta Huertas
© Gemma Moreno Mora
© Sandra Domper Julià
© Pia Pi Codina
© Astrid Jacomme
© Sandra Domper Julià
© Laura Belmonte
© Mateo Perez
