Barcelona and its metropolitan area will host the annual Night of Museums this Saturday, from 7pm to 1am, inviting residents to explore 94 cultural spaces free of charge. The event, which includes concerts, workshops, and guided tours, offers a unique nocturnal perspective on art, history, and architecture across the region.
The celebration directly links to International Museum Day, observed on 18 May. Participating municipalities include Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Badalona, Cornellà de Llobregat, Esplugues, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, and Sant Joan Despí. Montjuïc is a key hub, with eleven venues participating, allowing visitors to traverse the mountain amidst art, history, and architecture.
This year's event sees new additions such as the Gran Hotel Barcino, the La Bòbila Cultural Centre, and La Florida 6.0 centre in L'Hospitalet. The Montjuïc Castle Interpretation Centre will unveil its renovation, as will two branches of the Barcelona History Museum: Casa de l'Aigua and Fabra i Coats. The Santa Maria de Pedralbes Monastery, celebrating its 700th anniversary, will feature symbolically lit cloisters and a contemplative medieval silence. One notable activity there is 'Khadija Saye: Following a Shooting Star', a guided tour dedicated to the British-Gambian photographer who died in the Grenfell Tower fire.
Exploring Centuries of Art and History
The Night of Museums allows visitors to journey through centuries of artistic creation. Various locations in Barcelona will display works by artists such as Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Salvador Dalí at the Moco Museum. The European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) will present a major exhibition of contemporary realism, while the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) will highlight its Romanesque and Gothic art collections. Works by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Antoni Tàpies, and Josep Maria Subirachs will be accessible at their respective museums and foundations.
Other participating venues include the Frederic Marès Museum and the Music Museum, extending the exploration from archaeology to contemporary avant-garde art. The MNAC will also host a medieval techno concert in its Oval Hall, performed by the duo Gregotechno, coinciding with the 'Sant Pere de Rodes and the Master of Cabestany' exhibition.
Unearthing Roman Barcino
Among the more unusual proposals is the chance to descend beneath the city. The Gran Hotel Barcino will open its subsoil to the public, where a monumental pavement from the Roman forum of Barcino was recently discovered. These remains include a Montjuïc stone paving from the 1st century BC, hydraulic structures, and vestiges of ancient urban planning. Archaeology will also extend into the streets, with the Barcelona Archaeology Service offering an itinerary dedicated to the ancient Roman aqueduct that supplied the city.
The route starts at Plaça del Vuit de Març and continues to Casa de l'Ardiaca, home of the Historical Archive, tracing the water's path and reconstructing the 'specus', the internal channel that carried the supply essential for urban life in Barcino. The Badalona Museum-Quint Licini Garden reveals the remains of a pool and garden from an ancient Roman 'domus' in Baetulo, built in the late 1st century AD. This site, possibly linked to Quintus Licinius, a member of a powerful patrician family, offers insight into daily life in the ancient Roman city and the famous hospitality pact signed with the people of Badalona in 98 AD.
Immersive Experiences and Social Commentary
The night will also feature painting, graphic memory, and immersive technology. The Astoria Hotel will allow visits to the Opisso Museum, which houses over 400 original works by painter, draughtsman, and cartoonist Ricard Opisso across various hotel rooms. At Espai Moja, the 'Catalonia: Living Heritage' proposal will transform the visit into a sensory journey through Catalan heritage using virtual reality.
Many activities this year are aimed at young audiences. At La Model-Memory Space, 'The Red Thread', a documentary theatre performance, will recover the silenced stories of women who passed through the Women's Protection Board during the Franco regime. At Can Framis, 'Record' will bring an artistic investigation into the sound of movement to the stage, presented by choreographer Mar Garcia and orchestra conductor Javi Soler.
The most immersive programming comes from the Santa Mònica Arts Centre with 'Table of Spectres', an installation by the Estampa collective. This experience transforms a table and glass into an optical illusion where light fragments create visual effects, inviting public interaction. At the Tecla Sala Art Centre, visual artist Garbage Guerrillera will present 'Plastic Rain', a 45-minute performance using body and movement to question how capitalist society forces people to live surrounded by plastics.
Access to the museums and organised activities is free, with most not requiring prior registration. The full programme is available on the Night of Museums website. To mark International Museum Day, which falls on a Monday this year, several cultural spaces in the city will offer activities or free entry to their exhibitions over the weekend. Montjuïc Castle, DHub, La Bòbila, Frederic Marès Museum, MNAC, Picasso Museum (with reservation), Tàpies Museum, and Pedralbes Monastery, among others, will open exceptionally on Sunday. CaixaForum, CosmoCaixa, CCCB, Miró Foundation, Jujol-Can Negre Centre, and the Olympic and Sports Museum will open on Monday. The celebration extends across Catalonia, with activities listed on Patrimoni.gencat.cat/dim.
