LOOP Barcelona, the annual event devoted to artists’ films, stages during November in a City Festival (14–24) and a Professional Fair (21–23). LOOP delivers a hub for moving image lovers in which artists, gallerists, curators, collectors, scholars, and distributors can connect under a dynamic setup, specially conceived to address each collective’s concerns and facilitate collaborations.
LOOP Fair will host 38 international artists who will display solo shows from recent video art production, which have been selected by our specialised committee of collectors, chaired by Jean-Conrad Lemaître and composed by Isabelle Lemaître, Haro Cumbusyan, Renée Drake, and Josée and Marc Gensollen.
LOOP Fair stands firm on its commitment to moving image and will showcase multiple works, testifying to the ductility of video as a creative and critical tool. This year’s presentations significantly explore the bridges between the symbolic world and the conception of nature, the essence of time through memory and archives, reviewing as well political struggles and conflicts.
Artists selected: Katja Aufleger / Galerie Conradi (Hamburg); Trisha Baga / Societé (Berlin); Delaine Le Bas / Yamamoto Keiko Rochaix (London); Ulla von Brandenburg / Produzentengalerie Hamburg (Hamburg); Xavi Bou / Galeria Senda (Barcelona); Cabello/Carceller / GALERIA JOAN PRATS (Barcelona); Seba Calfuqueo / Bendana | Pinel Art Contemporain (Paris); Mariana Caló & Francisco Queimadela / NO·NO Gallery (Lisbon); Carlos Casas / àngels barcelona (Barcelona); Kent Chan / A.I. (London); Fito Conesa / House of Chappaz (Barcelona) & JOEY RAMONE (Rotterdam); İnci Eviner / Gandy Gallery (Bratislava); Alexandre Farto aka Vhils / GALERIA VERA CORTÊS (Lisbon); Anna Bella Geiger / Galería Marlborough (Barcelona); Shadi Habib Allah / RODEO (London); Juul Kraijer / Les filles du calvaire (Paris); Lera Nibiru / Iragui (Moscow); Jeroen Jongeleen / Upstream Gallery (Amsterdam); Lawrence Lek / Sadie Coles HQ (London); Fredj Moussa / Le Violon Bleu (Carthage); Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi / Stevenson (Cape Town); Pere Noguera / Bombon Projects (Barcelona); Valentin Ranger / Spiaggia Libera (Paris); Kameelah Janan Rasheed / NOME (Berlin); Ana Esteve Reig / Luis Adelantado Gallery (Valencia); Louis-Cyprien Rials / Galerie Eric Mouchet (Paris); Ugo Rondinone / Esther Schipper (Berlin); Jura Shust / Management (New York); Maya Schweizer / Galerie Dix9 Hélène Lacharmoise (Paris); Young-jun Tak / Fragment (New York); Eugénie Touzé / Galerie Dohyang Lee (Paris); Mimiko Türkkan / ANALIX FOREVER (Chêne-Bourg); Steina and Woody Vasulka / BERG Contemporary (Reykjavik); Wang Jun-Jieh and Cheang Shu Lea / Chi-Wen Gallery (Taipei); Cheng Xinhao / Tabula Rasa Gallery (Beijing, London); Simona Žemaitytė / Meno Parkas Gallery (Kaunas).
Expanding in a hybrid format, the selection will also be available online. From November 21 to 26, all the videos will be simultaneously accessible for streaming on the LOOP Virtual platform, providing the general public with an immersive experience and the opportunity to engage more deeply with the work. Early access for guests and professionals will commence on November 6 through previous accreditation.
LOOP Festival exhibitions and activities
Drawn by artistic director Victoria Sacco, LOOP Festival unfolds in a number of venues in Barcelona. Highlights of this year are:
Anòxia, un preludi constant, project awarded at the 9th Edition of the Video Creation Award by Fito Conesa at Centre d’Art Tecla Sala from November 15 to December 10.
Attuning by Aura Satz, curated by Carolina Jiménez, at Museu de la Música de Barcelona, opening on November 9.
Me niego by Lotty Rosenfeld a screening curated by Alejandra Coz Rosenfeld at Casa Amèrica Catalunya on November 24 (7pm).
Comment ça va? a film programme curated by Pascale Cassagnau and Rasha Salti featuring João Pedro Rodrigues & João Rui Guerra da Mata’s Onde fica esta rua? ou Sem antes nem depois and Joris Lachaise’s Transfariana at Zumzeig Cinecooperativa on November 18 and 19.
LOOP Awards
A jury formed by Elvira Dyangani Ose (Director, MACBA, Barcelona), Helena Kritis (Chief Curator, WIELS, Brussels), Andrea Lissoni (Artistic Director, Haus der Kunst, München), Benjamin Weil (Director, Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian, Lisboa), and Daniela Zyman (Artistic Director, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21, Madrid.) will award 2 films from the main selection with the Acquisition Award to a film which is acquired and included in the LOOP Collection, deposited at the MACBA; and the LOOP Fair Award, to the best gallery proposal.
This edition introduces the CIFRA LOOP Award which will be bestowed directly to a participating artist highlighting innovative practices.
Han Nefkens Foundation—LOOP Barcelona Video Art Production Grant in collaboration with Fundació Joan Miró dedicated to supporting new productions conferred in 2020 to artist Che-Yu Hsu will be on show until January 2024.