VI edition of the Bonart Awards in Girona - XXV years of bonart
Bonart magazine has begun its 25th anniversary, which will last until November 2025, with a series of activities throughout the territory, which will be officially presented in January of next year. The first of these activities was the 6th edition of the Bonart Awards, which was held on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at the Espai Fundació “la Caixa” in Girona.
The Espai Fundació “la Caixa” in Girona hosted the awards ceremony for various organizations and initiatives that stand out in the cultural field of the Girona regions.
Presented by journalists Mercè Sibina and Jordi Grau, the event featured the screening of a video art by Roc Parés that collected the 200 covers created by the magazine during these 25 years, as well as the audiovisual contributions of the artist IEX Cosmonauta, responsible for introducing the award winners. Videos about the beginnings of the publishing house were also screened, and drummer Ramon Prats offered an improvised musical performance. Before the awards ceremony, Ricard Planas, director of Bonart, participated in a conversation about the quarter century of the magazine and the essential role of art and culture, accompanied by the mayor of Girona, Lluc Salellas, and the president of the Girona Foundation and mayor of Banyoles, Miquel Noguer.
The awards, an A d'Art of the Gaudí typography designed by the illustrious Ricard Giralt-Miracle and which will also be the typography of the new logo of the Bonart Cultural group, were presented by prominent personalities: Francesc Julià (founder of Julià Grup and Kave Home), Pere Parramón (doctor in art history, master's degree in art criticism and sub-delegate of the Government in Girona), Ana Colomer (director of CaixaForum Girona), Quim Ayats (second deputy mayor and councilor for Culture of Girona), Josep Berga (mayor of Olot), Ricard Font (general director of the municipal company BIMSA), Montse Oller (vice president of the Lluís Coromina Isern Foundation and CEO of the Agrienergia group), Narcís Planas and Anna Maria Camps (honorary presidents of Bonart Cultural), Antoni Bou (president of the Atrium Artis Foundation) and Sílvia Paneque (councilor for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition).
Among the awardees, the Contemporary Art Chair of the University of Girona was recognized for its 25 years of research and dissemination in contemporary art and cultural theory, as well as for its role as the headquarters of the European Live Art Archive. The City Council of Castell, Platja d'Aro and s'Agaró was also awarded for its work in the dissemination of public sculpture in the Parc dels Estanys, a space that integrates art and nature. In addition, the elBulli 1846 Museum was recognized as a pioneer on a global scale in the creation of a museum space dedicated to gastronomy, as well as the Escola d'Art i Disseny d'Olot for its educational work and support for the Bonart typographic initiative on the headers of all issues.
The awards continued with the Valvi Foundation, awarded for its work in the dissemination of contemporary art in the Girona regions for more than twenty years, and the Girona Provincial Council, which received recognition for its program of traveling exhibitions, which bring contemporary art to less densely populated municipalities. In addition, the Estany Foundation was awarded for its Art Especial project, which has managed to break down the barriers between art and (dis)ability.
The architects of the RCR studio also received an award for their international career, their contribution to the promotion of the values of architecture and landscape, as well as their commitment to the Vila - Lab de pensament initiative. Finally, the Angelus Novus Foundation was recognized for its work in the preservation and dissemination of the figure of Walter Benjamin, especially through the Casa Walter Benjamin project in Portbou, and the L'Escala City Council was awarded for its commitment to contemporary art through its extensive cultural programming in various municipal spaces, as well as through the spring grants and the Muses festival.
