I start in a contradictory, even counterintuitive way. I don't think it's necessary to limit oneself to betting on young and emerging art. And this formula hides a problem that, in my opinion, does little to help the development of artistic careers: the idea that it's enough to give a moment of visibility in a showcase and then magic happens. But professional careers, as we well know, are not built on single bets. They are built with sustained work over time.
Professionalizing young talent requires constant, not sporadic, support. It requires a healthy system put at the service of professional development: a journey with several stages, logical in any human trajectory. Growth, consolidation, maturation. And also comings and goings: vital pauses for motherhood, to recover from an illness, to develop other projects, and to be able to resume one's career without having to start from scratch.
The Art Nou festival, promoted by the Art Barcelona association, has been trying to do exactly that for fifteen years: to promote and support young artists. Galleries, independent spaces and institutions in Barcelona and L'Hospitalet simultaneously program exhibitions and activities by emerging artists. This serves, of course, to give them visibility to the specialized public, to put them in the spotlight. But it also serves to bring the new trends of contemporary art, the ways of doing of a generation, closer to diverse audiences. It serves to open debate with citizens and make them participate in culture in a closer way, demystifying art, making all kinds of artistic spaces known, showing that galleries are not inaccessible temples, but close places of cultural enjoyment.
But there is an objective that differentiates us from other festivals and that is key for us: the professionalizing character. It is about artists having, in many cases, their first exhibition experiences or their first relationships with a gallery. And, perhaps, this first relationship can become a long-term professional relationship.
For this professionalization to be sustainable, however, all the planets in the sector must align. That is why Art Nou not only involves galleries, but also other types of artistic spaces. That is why synergies with other initiatives in the city that support emerging art are important. And that is why any cultural initiative in general, and the Art Nou festival in particular, must continue to count on institutional and private complicity for iron health.
Because to build healthy artistic careers, which make culture a habitable place, the support of all civil society is needed. Not only from public institutions. Also from citizens, who support with their presence, who consume and produce culture, who demand from their representatives public and unconditional support for culture. And the support of companies, who can collaborate and sponsor, with real patronage programs that bring benefits in both directions. And both of them, encouraging themselves to buy art, to start collections. Because collecting does not necessarily mean investing fortunes in big names: it means supporting the work of close, young, developing artists.
All this must converge so that emerging artists become what we call mid-career artists, and then established artists. So that whoever does not cross this first barrier is not due to lack of opportunities.