Under the title Patronage and impact: beyond financing, The New Barcelona Post organizes a new session of the Moments Estel·lars cycle with three reference figures who lead projects with a clear vocation for social and cultural return to society. The meeting, which will take place on Monday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m. at CASA SEAT, will feature the participation of Ainhoa Grandes, president of the MACBA Foundation; Josep Lagares, vice president of the Metalquimia Foundation; and Eloi Planes, executive president of Fluidra and president of the Catalunya Cultura Foundation. To attend, it is necessary to book in advance.
The session will be moderated by journalist and professor Toni Aira, and will have the support of the Fundació Catalunya Cultura, as well as Casa Seat, Must Media Group and Barcelona Global.
Ainhoa Grandes, president of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) Foundation since 2015, and director of the institution for the previous 15 years, has been responsible for managing the incorporation of more than 600 works that today are part of the MACBA collection. She has also increased relations with patrons and collaborating companies during times of complex economic circumstances. Currently, she is a member of the General Council and the Delegated Commission of MACBA, president of the Ship2B Foundation, member of the Advisory Board of the ARCO Foundation, member of the Board of Directors of Renta Corporación and member of the Advisory Board of Llorente y Cuenca.
Josep Lagares Gamero is a businessman from Girona and a musical and cultural patron. He is the president of Metalquimia, a company located in Girona dedicated to the study of Meat Science and Technology, which exports process technology, and, since 2014, promoter and vice-president of the Metalquimia Foundation, dedicated to promoting cultural, social, training and educational activities. Lagares has also published two books: the first, Plan de vuelo: la gran aventura de la empresa familiar (2009), in collaboration with authors Martí Gironell and Josep Tàpies; and the second, TIME-OUT: Creativación o Extinción, nosotros elegimos (2024). In 2008 he was the promoter and sponsor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Cobla y Cuerda de Catalunya; in September 2009 he was appointed a member of the Catalan Council for Research and Innovation, and in the period 2009 - 2013 he was vice-president of the Fundación Príncipe de Girona.
Eloi Planes is the executive president of Fluidra, where he has led actions such as its IPO in 2007 and its restructuring in 2008-09. He is currently also vice-president of the Fundación Catalunya Cultura, president of the Salón Internacional de la Piscina de Barcelona, a member of the Advisory Board of Acció, director of Dispur SL, president of Fixe Climbing and, for a few months now, the first president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.
The three speakers will offer their vision and experience on how, from business and foundational leadership, cultural initiatives with tangible impact and transformative capacity can be promoted. From supporting leading cultural institutions to innovative territorial projects, the session will highlight how patronage can become a driver of change and social progress.
With an open and committed perspective, this new edition of Moments Estel·lars will offer keys to rethink the role of companies and foundations in the cultural development of the country and to understand patronage as a tool for collective construction, taking into account the way new generations relate to the climatic, social and cultural causes that surround them. Admission is free, with prior registration, and the attending public will be able to intervene with questions and comments at the end of the session.