Banyoles hosts for the first time the itinerancy of the Biennial of Contemporary Gastronomic Art of Cambrils at the Espai Eat Art

For the first time, Banyoles is hosting the itineraries of the Cambrils Biennial of Contemporary Gastronomic Art at the Eat Art Space of the Lluís Coromina Isern Foundation in Banyoles with the inauguration of the Cambrils Biennial of Contemporary Gastronomic Art exhibition, which opens on Friday, September 19 at 7 p.m. and brings together the award-winning works from the six editions held so far (2014-2024).

Representatives of the Banyoles City Council, Carles Caballero (Culture Councilor of Cambrils) accompanied by Gemma Massagué (Head of the Department of Culture of Cambrils) and Cristina Vilà (Technical Assistant of the Department of Culture of Cambrils), as well as the president of the Lluís Coromina Isern Foundation, Lluís Coromina Isern and Alexandra Planas, curator of the exhibition at the Eat Art Space, will be present at the inauguration ceremony.

Thanks to the collaboration of the two city councils, the Biennial begins a new stage in the external projection of the project and an opening towards institutional alliances that point to ways of growing without losing local roots.

This exhibition offers a plural and evocative record of the link established between contemporary art and gastronomic culture, presenting the most outstanding creations that have been celebrated in Cambrils on the culinary world and its artistic expression and underlines its vocation to expand the link between art and gastronomy beyond the territory where it was born.

The exhibition is presented coinciding with the international recognition of Catalonia as a World Region of Gastronomy and the first European region to receive this recognition, confirming the consolidation of an innovative and regenerative gastronomic model, which goes further by discovering cultural and artistic aspects of the country.

For its part, the Eat Art Space, specialized in exhibiting projects that combine food and visual arts, becomes the perfect setting to showcase this temporary exhibition.

10 years of the Biennial

The Cambrils Contemporary Art Biennial, which began to be organized in 2014, has created an essential space for innovation and creativity, stimulating interdisciplinary reflection between the art and gastronomy sectors. Through this temporary exhibition, visitors will be able to enjoy a summary of the Biennial's trajectory, which has contributed to positioning the city of Cambrils as a leading meeting place for artists with a gastronomic sensibility.

The artists exhibiting at the Espai Eat Art in Banyoles are the winners (1st prize and runner-up) of each edition of the Biennial (6 editions in total) and are the following: Jesús Movellán Prieto (1st prize with Pulpo Seco ); Joan Codina Donaire (runner-up with More than 200 ways to eat a banana ); Ester Ferrando Casas (1st prize with Having eaten ); Cristina Salvans Moreso (runner-up with Lujuria ); Isabel Granollers Juncosa (1st prize with Mise en Place ), Roger Caparó Ferran (runner-up with Paisatge al Caliu ); José Àngel Pomerol Sánchez (1st prize, with Tres Rebosts ); Àlvar Calbet Castells (runner-up with Vermell Remolatxa and Vichy. Autoretrat Vermell “Vichy” ); Rosalía Banet Masa (1st prize with Altares y Ofrendas 1: Exceso ); Ariadna Parreu Alberich and Pau Magrané Figuera (second prize with Pols ); Cristina Salvans and Rosa Mata (1st prize with El Sant Sopar ) and Josepe (second prize with Res al plat ).

These winning pieces have been able to be visited so far, along with the finalists of each edition of the Biennial, in the collective exhibition organized by the Cambrils Department of Culture at the Municipal Exhibition Hall, Àgora. On the other hand, the exhibition at the Eat Art Space will be open to the public for free and can be visited until November 1, 2025, during the usual opening hours of this space.

According to the mayor of Cambrils, Oliver Klein, the Biennial acts as a creative engine and a tool for projecting local and international talent and promotes artistic research linked to culinary culture. The success of participation has increased in each edition, and according to him, the biennial is growing significantly, both in the number of proposals and in the quality of the works presented.

With a clear structure, an expert and independent jury selects the finalist works and awards two distinctions: a first prize worth 6,000 euros, and a second prize of 3,000 euros. Looking ahead to future editions, Klein explained that if the Government Plan is approved, it is planned to increase the financial endowment of the two prizes for the 2028 edition.

For his part, the Councilor for Culture and Urban Planning, Carlos Caballero, commented that the biennial has a scope that goes beyond the purely artistic sphere. According to them, it contributes to enriching the cultural heritage of Cambrils and reinforcing its gastronomic identity, in addition to promoting cultural tourism.