The line of subsidies from the IRL aimed at those responsible for programming festivals, equipment and international institutions in the field of visual arts, design and architecturestarted in 2024, has doubled this year the number of applications received, reaching 36. This represents more than double the number of requests compared to the previous year, from centers and festivals 20 countries.
Among the beneficiaries of this line of support are institutions of international reference such as Ars Electronica festival (Linz, Austria), Athens Digital Arts Festival – ADAF (Athens, Greece), Photography Encounters (Arles, France), la Istanbul Biennial (Turkey), the Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels, Belgium), Mextropolis (Mexico City, Mexico), la Biennial of Graphic Arts of Ljubljana (Slovenia), BIENALSUR (Buenos Aires, Argentina), the Gulbenkian Modern Art Center (Lisbon, Portugal), Signal Festivalthe Kunsthalle Münsterthe Thursday of Paume (Paris, France) or the Museum of Modern Art in Vienna – MUMOK (Austria).
In this call, the most scheduled artists have been Claudia Pagès Rabalwhich throughout 2025 will participate in five major international meetings, and Monica Rikićwith three participations in international festivals.
Pagès Rabal, recently selected to represent Catalan culture in the Venice Art Biennale 2026presents the work of new creation Five Defense Towers in the Chisenhale Gallery (London, United Kingdom), in the 18th Istanbul Biennial (Turkey) and will be the protagonist of a solo exhibition at the Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien – MUMOK (Vienna, Austria). Also, his piece Reservoirs and Groups —created for Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana—has toured the Freiburg Biennale and INDEX – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation.
Other outstanding numbers from the context of Catalan culture programmed with the support of these grants include Eva Fabregas, Carlos Bunga, Joan Fontcuberta, Rosa Tharrats, Max de Esteban, Playmodes, Mark Vilanova, Laia April, Daniel Steegmann Mangrané or Jordi Colomer.
Some of the main shows with Catalan participation scheduled so far are: Joan Fontcuberta y Printing Workshop in the Thursday of Paume from Paris; Mark Vilanova in The Mattress Factory from Pittsburgh; Rosa Tharrats in the Kunsthalle Münster; Andres Galeano in Photoszene Köln; Monica Rikić in the 24th edition of International Image Festival from Colombia; Claudia Pagès Rabal, Irene de Andrés y Agnes Essonti in the Freiburg Biennale; Olga Subirós, Relena cake y Maria Arnal in the Biennial of Graphic Arts of Ljubljana; Daniel Steegmann Mangrané in WHEELS; Ariadna Guiteras in CAC Brétigny; Mark Vilanova y Maria Arnal in Ars Electronica 2025; Laia April in the Stockholm Triennial; and the samples of Cities Connection and of the collective Post-Like at the festival Mextropolis from Mexico City.
The objective of this IRL support line is to promote and accompany the participation of Catalan culture in the main festivals, biennials, museums and art, architecture and design centers around the world.
