The city of Barcelona has recognized the career and talent of various creators and professionals in different fields of culture. The Ciutat de Barcelona 2023 Awards have distinguished, among others, the organist Montserrat Torrent, the actor Joan Carreras and the sculptor David Bestué.
Montserrat Torrent, a music legend
The City of Barcelona Music Award went to Montserrat Torrent, one of the most prestigious organists in the world, who at the age of 97 is still in full artistic form. The jury has assessed his musical activity during the year 2023, which included a series of concerts in Barcelona, in the churches of Sant Felip Neri, Santa Maria del Mar and Sant Vicenç de Sarrià, as well as the publication of a new disk Montserrat Torrent is a reference in Catalan and universal music, with a career of more than 70 years dedicated to interpretation, teaching and research.
Joan Carreras, an excellent actor
The Ciutat de Barcelona Prize for Performing Arts has gone to Joan Carreras, for his masterful interpretation in the work Història d’un senglar (or Ricard’s Something), by Gabriel Calderón. The jury highlighted “his interpretative excellence in a magnificent piece, which combines humor, irony and reflection on identity and memory”. Joan Carreras is a versatile and committed actor, who has worked in theatre, film and television, and who has participated in projects of great social and cultural relevance.
David Bestué, a forceful sculptor
The City of Barcelona Prize for Visual Arts has recognized the work of David Bestué, for the exhibition Ciutat de sorra, which could be seen at Fabra i Coats: Center d’Art Contemporani. The jury praised “his discursive and formal forcefulness based on the sculptural work through a critical and exhaustive investigation of the recent history of Barcelona”. David Bestué is a sculptor who explores the relationships between art, architecture and society, with an original and provocative look.
Other awardees
The Ciutat de Barcelona 2023 Awards have also distinguished, in other categories, the Raval’s Festival, from the Tot Raval Foundation, for “the reinterpretation of the civic-festive use of public space, claiming it, at the same time, as heritage of citizenship, with an intercultural perspective” (Popular and Community Cultures Award); to the Miquel Tarradell Institute, for “the consolidation of an educational project that combines the promotion of all the languages of the community with the learning and use of Catalan” (Education Award); at the exhibition The New Realists. Catalan and Balearic architecture since the 2008 crisis, curated by Carme Ribas and Joan Roig, and designed by Victòria Garriga (Architecture, Urbanism and Design Award), and in the audiovisual Alteritats, by Alba Cros Pellisé and Nora Haddad Casadevall, “for the approach to sexual and identity dissidences from the intimate and natural witness” (Digital and Audiovisual Culture).
The prizes have an endowment of 9,500 euros and will be presented on February 13 in a ceremony at Saló de Cent.