Once again, art and video converge at the Loop Festival Barcelona 2022

Between 8 and 20 November, lovers of audiovisual art have enjoyed the 20th Loop Barcelona festival

The leading audiovisual festival, Loop Barcelona, celebrated its 20th anniversary this month. Throughout November, lovers of audiovisual art have been able to enjoy numerous exhibitions on an abstract theme: the notion of time. After the success of last year’s festival at Gaudí’s Casa Pedralbes, the Almanac Barcelona hotel hosted the Loop Fair this year.

A total of 43 works in all kinds of format—films, animations and virtual reality videos with novel formats and with a critical eye. Video formats and image development in new media such as 3D, motion capture, virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence all played their part. The inspiration for exhibitors was the phrase “As time goes by...' .

Some of the artists at the Loop Fair—Sigurður Guðjónsson, Lenora de Barros, and Marianna Simnett, among others—have consolidated their career in major international events such as the Venice Biennale or the Lyon festival. Award-winning artists from film festivals such as the Berlinale, Sundance, New York Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival and CPH:DOX were also present at the event.

Aiming high, the festival brought together no less than 350 creators and 40 curators in 72 spaces around Barcelona, the being to display Barcelona’s artistic community.

Itineraries and talks

Both Barcelona Gallery Weekend, an annual four-day event promoted by the Art Barcelona gallery association, and City Screen 2022 collaborated with this event. Thanks to the participation of galleries, organizations and groups, numerous guided itineraries were organized throughout Barcelona.

Furthermore, Loop Talks, a series of round tables and presentations on issues such as cinematographic practices, the ethics and practices of art collecting, and the potential of new digital technologies and their impact took place on 16 and 17 November.

The Loop, at the forefront of audiovisual art

The movement created in 2003 by Emilio Álvarez and Carlos Durán has been described as “one of the most important platforms for the production and exhibition of critical thinking generated by artists, who in most cases are supported by gallery owners and collectors”.

This event receives the support of various institutions and companies. They include the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies, the Catalunya Government, the Barcelona City Council, Acción Cultural Española from the Ministry of Culture, the Ramon Llull institute, Almanac Barcelona hotel, La Vanguardia, and Estrella DAMM.