Antoni Abad: reflections on the environment of a consumer society that marginalizes human groups

Last Sunday, March 9, the second season of the podcast INCLASSIFICABLES , presented by Ricard Planas and David Escamilla , premiered its twelfth and final episode of the season on the 3CAT (Catalunya Ràdio) platform. In this episode, they talked with the unclassifiable Antoni Abad , a multidisciplinary artist who gives voice and visibility to marginalized groups in the media universe, and with Jesús Navarro , director of the Morera Museum in Lleida , with whom they shared future challenges.

During the conversation, Antoni Abad reflected on his artistic career and social concerns, from his early explorations in ceramics and material structures to a more transdisciplinary practice focused on the relationship between art, society and technology. A key moment was in 1993, when he discovered a mobile device with an internet connection and integrated camera, which opened up a new perspective for him to conceive his work. He identified the potential of technology to give voice to groups often ignored by traditional media, demonstrating how technology can be a tool to generate visibility and give space to those in marginalized situations.

In this context, should creators use new technologies not only to create, but also to question and criticize them? Art has always been a questioning of reality, and today this questioning must also include new technological developments. In this sense, artificial intelligence, one of the most present technologies today, can make us feel more vulnerable. What seemed like a liberating tool, now puts us in a more weakened position within an increasingly sophisticated world?

On the other hand, Jesús Navarro talks about the new headquarters of the Morera Museum in Lleida, a key space for contemporary art in the city. Founded in 1917, the museum has moved through several buildings before finally settling in its new space, which opens an interesting chapter for modern and contemporary art in the region, now facing a new stage with challenges and projects.

David Escamilla, Antoni Abad, Jesús Navarro i Ricard Planas.