The CCCB, 25 years later

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n Friday, February 25, 1994, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) was inaugurated in the heart of Raval and, that same weekend, more than 15,000 Barcelonians were left speechless by the spectacular restoration of the Casa de la Caritat by architects Viaplana and Piñón. The glass facade quickly became the icon of the house, and even today hundreds of tourists daily strain their necks to look at it, mesmerized.

That day began the journey of one of the institutions that has most marked Barcelona's cultural history at the turn of the century, with a team, led by philosopher Josep Ramoneda, and a project dedicated to "urban culture," to "the city." It goes without saying that this somewhat sui generis definition raised some eyebrows: a cultural center solely about the city? And, it's not a museum and has no collection? This will last four days! But the doubts vanished with the programmatic hyperactivity, both due to the vitality of the hosted festivals, such as Sónar or L'Alternativa, and the quality of the CCCB-brand exhibitions, which soon became a European reference.

Everyone has their favorite CCCB exhibition: perhaps it's Once Upon a Time in Chernobyl or El Paralelo, 1894-1939, or maybe one of those dedicated to writers' cities, like Pessoa's Lisbons or The City of K, which two decades later still holds up well in the Kafka Museum in Prague. It has long been the case that talking about a CCCB exhibition means talking about immersive shows that combine thesis with popularization, and that use a thousand and one narrative strategies to shake the viewer, whether with cutting-edge multimedia installations or with scenographic recreations of rooms or cafes. The demonstration that the exhibition is a total format: it admits everything, endures everything, and never stops reinventing itself.

The challenge for Carrera is not minor: after years of budget cuts and autopilot, the CCCB must leave behind the "tomorrow will be another day" to set long-term goals and chart the path for the next 25 years. Where should the CCCB go?

Next February, the CCCB will celebrate its quarter century of life with its first female director at the helm, political scientist Judit Carrera, until now Head of Debates and Education at the center. This summer an international jury chose her resume from among 17 applicants, both for the work done abroad -she has a degree from Sciences Po in Paris, and worked at UNESCO in the French capital- and for what she has achieved within the institution, where since 2002 she has worked obsessively to build the network of international relations that allows Nobel laureates, experts, and world-class thinkers to parade through Barcelona week after week.

The challenge for Carrera is not minor: after years of budget cuts and autopilot, the CCCB must leave behind the "tomorrow will be another day" to set long-term goals and chart the path for the next 25 years. Where should the CCCB go? Does it have to grow and gain new spaces in the Raval? Or perhaps it should have sub-headquarters throughout the territory? What kind of exhibitions tell us today? What should a cultural center be like in the virtual age?

Carrera's latest project, the new Biennial of Thought of Barcelona, which this October will turn the city into an agora with dozens of debates and talks in squares, markets, and libraries, may be a small preview of what is to come, with the CCCB regaining centrality in fostering debate. Because, more than ever, "the city" will be one of the central themes of the 21st century. What role should metropolises play in the face of global capitalism? How will Big Data affect our neighborhoods? How can we make neighborhood life compatible with mass tourism? Surely Judit Carrera's CCCB will help us find answers.

Featured images: 1. Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (1990-1993), by Albert Viaplana and Helio Piñón. Former Casa de la Caridad. Photo by Canaan 2. Judith Carrera, new director of the CCCB. Photo by Miquel Taverna