Spring Art Barcelona raises €158,100 in favor of the IRES Foundation

Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona, also known as the Hotel de l'Art, with more than 1,000 works of different styles and eras, was the enclave chosen to kick off Spring Art Barcelona, an initiative that brought together fifteen + an artists commissioned by Sofia Palacios (Barcelona, 1996), who have created works of art with spring as a source of inspiration. This Tuesday, May 30, the dinner-auction took place in which a total of 158,100 euros was raised. The entire amount will go entirely to the work of the IRES Foundation, in favor of families in vulnerable situations.

Almost 300 guests enjoyed a night of solidarity with art and spring as a common thread in a cultural and solidarity night. The gala, directed by Màrius Carol, had the presence of most of the artists who participated, as well as a large attendance of professionals linked to artistic institutions such as Ainhoa Grandes (MACBA Foundation), Natalia Chocarro (Vila Casas Foundation) , Valentí Oviedo (Gran Teatre del Liceu), Llucià Homs (cultural manager) and Lluis Coromina (philanthropist and president of the Lluis Coromina Foundation) among others.

The event was attended by gallerists such as: Carlos Durán (Galeria Senda), Júlia Alzueta (Alzueta Gallery), Pati Lara (The Ryder), Natalia Foguet (Lab_36), Joana Roda (Bombon) and Miguel Marcos (Galeria Miguel Marcos), and a large number of collectors and civil society in Barcelona.

The three works that have obtained the highest bids are:

1. Flavia Junqueira. Liceu Opera Barcelona, 1847, Spain #1 (€10,000)
2. Regina Giménez. Cosmic Geometry (€8,000)
3. Manolo Ballesteros. Without Title (€7,200)

In this first edition of Spring Art Barcelona , those interested visited the works of the different artists in the Espai Isern Dalmau of the Fundació Lluís Coromina . The initiative featured national and international artists, some with well-known careers and others emerging with great future potential. The artists who participated in the first edition of Spring Art Barcelona were: Albert Riera Galceran (Barcelona, 1995), Amalia Pica (Neuquén, 1978), Bea Bonafini (Bonn, 1990), Eduard Bigas (Palafrugell, 1969), Glenda León (Havana, 1976), Iván Forcadell (Alcanar, 1993), Júlia Creuheras (Barcelona, 1995), Manolo Ballesteros (Barcelona, 1965), Merve Iseri (Istanbul, 1992), Regina Giménez (Barcelona, 1966), Rosa Tharrats Barcelona, 1983), Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe (Sheroana, 1971), Sofia Clausse (Argentina, 1989), Tiago Mestre (Bella. Portugal, 1978), Xevi Solà (Santa Coloma de Farners, 1969) and Flávia Junqueira (Sao Paulo, 1985 ).

In addition, the poet Gabriel Ventura (Barcelona, 1988) created for the occasion a short triptych entitled "Three seeds" which served as a starting point for the artists in the process of creating the works. The three pieces that make up the triptych, two haikus and a tanka, typical of Japanese poetry, reflect the essence of spring, the future and transformation and speak of joy, the possibility of change and the language that appears with the hope

Spring Art Barcelona is a private initiative linked to art with a solidarity objective and this triptych poem, a starting point for artists, creates a parallel between the joy, the transformative spirit and the hope of spring and the work of the IRES Foundation families in highly vulnerable situations who go there to leave bad times behind and face a new life with new opportunities.

For more than fifty years, the IRES Foundation has been helping families facing different situations of high vulnerability which, in many cases, are interconnected and make their risk of poverty and social exclusion very high. In many cases, in these situations of vulnerability, when a single family member has a problem that makes them vulnerable, all members of the family unit are directly affected. The IRES Foundation works with more than 40 socio-educational care programs, promotion of social inclusion, intervention in conflicts and violence, and community work in the judicial field, to give each family (and its members) the tools and resources they need to leave behind these situations of high vulnerability and have a better future. With these programs, every year the IRES Foundation helps more than 15,000 people and families., a starting point for artists, creates a parallel between the joy, the transformative spirit and the hope of spring and the work of the IRES Foundation families in highly vulnerable situations who go there to leave bad times behind and face a new life with new opportunities.