The commerce in the center of Barcelona "remains alive, is resilient, and knows how to react." This is the analysis of Teresa Llordés, president of the merchants' association Barna Centre, on the situation of the shops in the Gòtic neighborhood, establishments that "are necessary to keep Barcelona's uniqueness alive as a city."
The Barna Centre association, aware that the recovery of activity to pre-pandemic levels "will take time to arrive," is one of the instigating parties behind the Aparadors Artístics initiative, an innovative action carried out by the cultural publication Hänsel i Gretel, which highlights the historical relationship between commerce and culture, and between these and the citizenry.
Until March 31, thirteen renowned national and international artists from the visual arts, performing arts, cinema, and literature use the shop windows of businesses on Carrer del Pi, Petritxol, Banys Nous, and Palla to bring their creations closer to the public.
"A reaction of astonishment and a very positive shared joy has been generated. From a person dedicated to teaching, who told us it was an excellent opportunity to take their students on the route and talk about the artists who collaborated, to people interested in artistic expression who are enthusiastic about these works temporarily leaving the galleries, while also helping to give value to a business model that feels close," explains Teresa Llordés.
This is part of the result of the conjugation of businesses Sant Joieria, Marcs Petritxol, Sala Parés, Yellowkorner, Conesa Papereria, Joieria Petritxol, Accent Created Diamonds, Fargas Xocolateria, Antiguitats Olga de Sandoval, and Villa del Arte, with artists Joan Fontcuberta, Albert Serra, Lara Fluxà, Sok Kan Lai, Dominika Berger, Marcos Palazzi, Ari Gardiazabal, Alicia Kopf, Jaime Serra, Gino Rubert, Miquel Aparici, Montse Valdés, and Albert Espona.
"I have to highlight the generosity of the participating artists, all very renowned, who immediately said yes, and our gratitude to Hänsel i Gretel, and its managers Fèlix Riera and Llucià Homs, who have been the key piece of the action," explains Llordés. The president of the city center merchants believes that both artists and shopkeepers demonstrate the possibility of approaching people walking through the center of Barcelona in a different way and that, through cooperation, "everyone wins and that the complicity of the various agents that make up the urban reality is essential to recover, both emotionally and economically, a city center facing great challenges."
In this sense, Barna Centre highlights that, although tourism has long represented an important contribution to the city's dynamism, now future expectations lie in very different options. "In the short and medium term, tourism will have another, more specific weight," Llordés emphasizes. "Recovery will take time to arrive, the inertia of the pandemic effects and the worsening of the international situation place us before a horizon of uncertainty, but there is a window of opportunity for all of us to plan a way out of the situation, with strength and with the right tools," she adds.
Teresa Llordés: "There is a necessary commitment: to keep the small businesses in the city center alive and unique, because it is also to keep Barcelona's uniqueness as a city alive"The merchants understand thatthe fundamental base of downtown commerce are the citizens of Barcelona themselvesand it is for this reason that they have startedArtistic Showcases. An initiative that will surely be replicated soon to insist thatthe windows of the neighborhood shops are spaces for connection and dialogue with citizens and also for telling the story of deeply rooted and unique businesses in the city center.
The president of Barna Centre defends that commerce is characterized by its constant adaptation: to supply and demand, to new consumption habits, etc. and that "the city center is resilient by nature, it knows how to react! It has been doing so for years because this is the path it was left with the proliferation of urban and peripheral shopping centers, digital transformation, citizens' self-sufficiency...". In her opinion, "there is a necessary commitment: to keep the small businesses in the city center alive and unique, because it is also keeping Barcelona's uniqueness as a city alive."