40th edition of the ACCA Awards

On March 20, the Meier Auditorium of the MACBA hosted the 40th edition of the ACCA Awards, the competition with which the Catalan Association of Art Criticism (ACCA) recognizes the work done in the Catalan art world during 2023. Thirty candidates - divided into six categories - aspired to take home one of the awards.

The Research award went to the exhibition Un altre art. Informalism in Catalonia 1956-1966, curated by Conxita Oliver and Joan Gil at the Girona Art Museum. This recognition highlighted the extensive research work that made it possible to critically examine one of the most significant movements in post-war art in Catalonia.

The Miró-Picasso exhibition, presented simultaneously at the Picasso Museum and the Joan Miró Foundation, has been awarded the ACCA Prize for the Historical Commission, in recognition of the work of the four curators responsible for the project: Teresa Montaner, Sònia Villegas, Margarida Cortadella and Elena Llorens. This award rewards the work carried out to organize a unique, revealing and far-reaching exhibition, which has highlighted the artistic and personal connections between Miró and Picasso.

The ACCA Contemporary Art Commission Award was awarded to Santcorneliarts (2), an exhibition program directed by Mercè Alsina and Enric Mauri at the Tomàs Balvey Archive Museum in Cardedeu. His approach was awarded, which since 2017 has sought to explore contemporary art from a local and universal perspective, with both a retrospective and forward-looking look that seeks to bring various expressions of art closer to all kinds of audiences.

The Vila Casas Foundation was awarded the ACCA Award in the Spaces category, in recognition of its firm commitment to the defense, recovery, promotion and dissemination of art and the historical and contemporary artists of Catalonia, transcending even the limits of their own exhibition spaces.

In the area of Projects and artistic initiatives, the Vernissage, an interdisciplinary digital initiative promoted by Gemma Peiró, Mercè Vila, Cesc Maymó and Diana Juanpere, was distinguished. This project has created a multimedia platform that, in each new installment, brings together several professionals to discuss the work of a contemporary Catalan artist.

The ACCA Award for art criticism was awarded to Ángela Molina, a contributor to El País, for her ability to offer reviews that go beyond a mere press review, providing a deep knowledge of the cultural world national and international and generating significant debates within the artistic field.