Fira Mediterrania in Manresa

Fira Mediterrània of Manresa (Catalonia-Spain) is a performing arts marketplace gathering together new artistic creations inspired by the distinctive cultural traits of Catalonia and the Mediterranean region. It has been held every year since 1998 and has become a setting for exchange professionals that sell and buy productions.

The Fira Mediterrània is part of the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Spanish Performing Arts Trade Fair Coordinator (COFAE), the European Forum of Worldwide Music Festivals, the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) and the Spanish Network of Publicly-Owned Theatres, Auditoriums, Circuits and Festivals.

Most activities are open to the public at large and the Fira uses a range of stage areas in the city centre. Despite this, activities exclusively aimed at industry professionals are a cornerstone of the Fira. These include industry conferences, a recruitment place, partnership network meetings and presentations. Together with FiràTarrega (the international market for performing arts) and Mercat de Música Viva de Vic (Vic live music market), the Fira Mediterrània completes the Generalitat (Regional Government) of Catalonia’s map of artistic marketplaces in Catalonia.

Characteristics

Fira is an interdisciplinary event and the programme covers all artistic languages – visual arts, circus, dance, exhibitions, music, storytelling and theatre. The programmed shows are in different formats - small, medium or large-scale - in venues or in the street, aimed both at adult and at family audiences. 18th edition will be held from 15th to 18th October 2015. Arts projects can be submitted under two main themes:

Suitable projects: Traditional popular culture productions // Urban and street art // Community and social inclusion projects // New artistic formats, multidisciplinary and innovative shows // Traditional culture productions // Interactive and/or participative shows // Family shows // Educational and awareness-raising projects (for children and/or adults) // Itinerant shows // Games and videogames // Others.

Allongsite this, the Business Area is an outstanding point of contact and sale both in the performing arts sector (circus, family shows, street performance, etc.) and in that of world music. The Business Area is a forum where creative artists, promoters, producers, arts administrators, institutions, voluntary bodies, associations and the arts business can meet to discuss the new opportunities arising, in an international context. An innovative, enriching aspect of these initiatives is the fact that at the Fira, unlike other forums for debate, some of the projects can also be seen on stage.

The Fira Mediterrània Manresa-Catalonia is made possible through the Generalitat of Catalonia’s Culture and Media Department and Manresa City Council, which comprise the organising foundation. The main private sponsors are the ‘La Caixa’ Obra Social (Social and Cultural Outreach Project) and Estrella Damm.

Objectives

Participants

Over the years, Fira Mediterrània Manresa-Catalonia has seen many artists come to its stages from diverse disciplines and different areas of the Mediterranean.

Guest countries From 2002 to 2005, Fira Mediterrània Manresa-Catalonia started an internationalisation process to open up new areas and countries in the Mediterranean. Each year it invited one particular country or area to take part, so that the bulk of international projects came from one geographical and cultural region.

• 2002- Occitania

• 2003- Piedmont

• 2004- Campania

• 2005- Maghreb


Guest artist Since 2008 Fira Mediterrània Manresa-Catalonia has invited a guest artist to attend. This person doesn’t just present their own work but also their vision of the Fira based on a core theme.

• 2008. Leandre Escamilla and Manel Vilanova, co-directors of the street theatre company Xarxa Teatre, explored the festival and the street.

• 2009. Carles Santos, musician, examined tradition and modernity, roots and contemporaenity

• 2010. Gelabert-Azzopardi, choreographs and dancers explored movement

• 2011. Perejaume, painter and poet, looked at the importance of images

• 2012. Isaki Lacuesta, producer, examined the generational shift

• 2013. Jordi Savall, musician, explored the crossover of cultures

• 2014. "Peret", Pere Pubill Calaf, musician and ‘father of Catalan rumba’, headed a social project in the city of Manresa neighbourhoods that he was unable to complete because he passed away in August 2014.


Core theme In the Fira’s two different periods, its programme has been based around a core unifying theme or leitmotif.

• 2003: The Mask

• 2004: Fire

• 2005: Popular Mythology

• 2008: The Festival and the Street

• 2009: Tradition and Modernity

• 2010: Movement

• 2011: The Power of Images

• 2012: The Generational Shift

• 2013: The Crossroads of Cultures

Discography

Awards and recognition

Fira Mediterrània Manresa-Catalonia was recognised by the Colombia Ministry of Culture, the University of Rosario in Bogotá and the Ramon Llull Institute of Catalonia-Baleares as a cultural practice of excellence, at the Cultural Management Conference held in March 2010 as part of the Ibero-American Theatre Festival of Bogatá. The two Catalan speaking regions were invited to take part in this event as guests of honour.

Artistic direction

Former and current artistic directors of the Fira Mediterrània Manresa-Catalonia include:

• Lluís Puig (1998-2000).

• Jordi Bertran (2001-2005).

• Toni Xuclà (2006-2007).

• Tere Almar (2008-2011).

• David Ibáñez, since 2012.

External links

Music of Fira Mediterrània at Linkedin]

References