The ACCA Awards once again recognize the most outstanding contributions to Catalan contemporary art

The Meier Auditorium of the MACBA hosted yesterday, April 24, the presentation of the 41st edition of the Catalan Association of Art Critics (ACCA) Awards , an annual event to recognize the most outstanding contributions in six different areas of contemporary artistic practice and thought. It should be remembered that the ACCA Awards are the oldest awards dedicated to the visual arts in Catalonia, a trajectory that not only gives them prestige, but also speaks of their historical commitment to the defense and dissemination of artistic creation in the country.

The awards, which are based on a selection of thirty candidates proposed by a committee of experts, were decided by voting among the members of the ACCA - professionals in criticism, curation and artistic research from all over Catalonia.

As for the first prize of the event, corresponding to the Art Criticism , it was awarded to Susanna Portell for her work as a historian and critic for the magazine L'Avenç. The jury highlighted her ability to convey exhibition projects with a deeply documented and sensitive look, far from academic formalism and committed to intimate writing and full of personal experience. Portell was chosen from a group of nominees such as Carolina Ciuti, director of the digital magazine exibart and regular collaborator of La Maleta de Portbou; Martí Peran, professor and author of the book El idiota; Assumpta Rosés, critic and director of the magazine Artiga; and Andrea Soto Calderón, philosopher and professor specializing in art and aesthetics.

Susanna Portell. © Andreu Puig

In the research category , Lola Lasurt 's Heliofília project was the winner thanks to its conceptual sophistication and the delicate way in which it activates the memory of an emblematic space like La Ricarda through a subtle integration of art, architecture and sensory experience. Lasurt competed with literary and essay proposals such as El radar américain by Vicenç Altaió, published by Galàxia Gutenberg; Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, by Joana Masó and Éric Fassin, published by Arcàdia; Desbordar el espejo, a work by Joan Fontcuberta also in Galàxia Gutenberg; and Pedro Mañach, primer marchante de Picasso, by Rafael Inglada and Mariàngels Fondevila, published by SD Edicions.

Heliofilia, 2024 © Lola Lasurt. Foto © Manifesta 15 / Ivan Erofeev

The Contemporary Art Curatorship Award recognized the work of Teresa Grandas for the exhibition Mari Chordà... and many other things, presented at the Museu d'Art Modern de Tarragona and later at the MACBA. This exhibition represents an essential vindication of an artist, poet and activist who, despite her significant career, has too often been relegated to the big stories. In addition, the unusual collaboration between a local museum and a metropolitan institution was highlighted. The jury's decision came among other nominations such as Alfons Flores. L'escenario prodigios, curated by Joan Maria Minguet Batllori; Mortals (Prelude), a group exhibition curated by Roser Sanjuan, Albert Potrony and Maite Palomo; Miquel Barceló. Tots som grecs, curated by Enrique Juncosa at La Pedrera; and Mar Arza. Sotaveu, curated by Valentín Roma at La Virreina.

L'exposició 'Mari chordà... i moltes altres coses' al MACBA, 2024. © Miquel Coll

In the category of Curating Historical Cairo , the exhibition Suzanne Valadon. A Modern Epic took home the award. The exhibition, organized by the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and curated by Eduard Vallès and Philip-Dennis Cate, was valued for its ability to rediscover a key female figure of artistic modernity, with a notable international impact thanks to the collaboration of the Centre Pompidou-Metz and the Musée d'Art de Nantes. The other nominations in this category included Adrià Ciurana. M'abrigo de terra, curated by Jordi Mitjà and Manuel Gràvalos; Subúrbia, an exhibition dedicated to the urban periphery curated by Philipp Engel with the advice of Francesc Muñoz at the CCCB; Carles Santos. And now what?, a retrospective at the Centre de les Arts Lliures with Ona Balló at the helm; and Rafael Griera. The second best painter in the world, curated by Rafel G. Bianchi at the Museu de la Garrotxa.

L'exposició de Suzane Valadon al MNAC, 2024. © Manolo Garcia

As for the Award for Artistic Projects and Initiatives , the work 3 mesos, 3 semanas, 3 dies by Francesc Ruiz , presented at the ACVIC Centre for Contemporary Arts in Vic, was distinguished. This visual work, built from the language of comics and narrative architecture, offers a powerful and necessary critique of the meat industry and its involvement in animal exploitation and the environmental and economic impact on the territory of the Plana de Vic. Among the other nominated projects were Energia sumergida by Paula Artés for Lo Pati d'Amposta; Accident, a proposal by Hac Vinent within the cycle curated by Irina Mutt at the Fundació Joan Miró; Site Unspecific, a sound piece by Cabosanroque for CaixaForum+; and Sala d'espera, an artistic mediation project by Clàudia del Barrio and Anna Irina Russell at the Fundació Miró.

L'exposició ‘3 mesos, 3 setmanes, 3 dies’ de Francesc Ruíz a ACVIC.

Finally, the Exile Memorial Museum (MuME) , located in La Jonquera, was recognized with the Art Spaces Award . Since its foundation in 2007, the museum has been able to incorporate with coherence and a contemporary vision several artistic proposals linked to exiles, opening up to a broad and current reading of historical memory. The MuME prevailed in a category with such relevant spaces as UNZIP - Torre Muntadas in Prat de Llobregat, Bombon Projects and Malpaís in Barcelona, and the Antiga Farinera in Corçà, shared by the Prats Nogueras Blanchard and Bombon Projects galleries.

L'exposició ‘Exiliadas. Los hilos rojos entrelazados’ al MuME, 2023.

The event also highlighted the need to continue strengthening the visual arts sector. ACCA not only claimed the improvements that are being made to improve the working conditions of professionals in the sector, but also made a strong call to recognize the power of art, culture and criticism as fundamental tools to face the uncertainties of today's world. It defended the role of art as a transformative force capable of resisting repression, simplistic discourses and threats to collective freedoms.