The second edition of Escena Gardunya, organised by Viu el Teatre with the support of the Ciutat Vella District, has once again demonstrated the value of bringing high-quality performing arts into public spaces and transforming Plaça de la Gardunya and the Rubió i Lluch Gardens into open spaces for culture, community and participation.
From February to June, the programme featured five free performances of circus, clown and physical theatre by highly acclaimed companies, offering a diverse, inclusive artistic programme aimed primarily at family audiences. Throughout this edition, close to 1,000 people attended the performances, confirming the positive reception of a project that, after two editions, has established itself as a community-based cultural initiative with a meaningful impact on the neighbourhood.
Escena Gardunya has become a meeting place where families, local residents, visitors and Viu el Teatre’s regular audiences have come together to share experiences through the performing arts. Beyond audience numbers, the project has helped strengthen the role of culture as a tool for social cohesion by providing free access to high-quality performances while highlighting two of the Raval’s most emblematic public spaces as open cultural venues for everyone.
The audience’s response reaffirms the importance of supporting long-term cultural initiatives that encourage new forms of participation, strengthen community ties and contribute to the cultural vitality of the neighbourhood. At the same time, this experience encourages continued collaboration with local organisations and cultural facilities to further expand the project’s reach.
Viu el Teatre would like to thank the Ciutat Vella District for its continued support, as well as the participating companies, all those who attended the performances, and the organisations that helped make this new edition possible.
The results achieved encourage us to continue investing in this project, and we hope that Escena Gardunya will continue in the years ahead, establishing itself as a permanent family performing arts programme in public spaces and as a cultural landmark in the Raval. Bringing culture into public spaces is also a way of creating cities that are more accessible, more cohesive and more vibrant.