Santa Mònica distributes the game culturecapital:barcelona

A critical tool on artistic economies

The Santa Mònica art center now offers the card game and performative project culturecapital:barcelona, which critically and playfully examines the generation of value in contemporary artistic economies. Citizens can pick up a free copy of the game at the center's reception desk, while supplies last.

Originally created by Canadian artists Milton Lim and Patrick Blenkarn, culturecapital:barcelona is a version adapted to the context of Barcelona in collaboration with Marc Villanueva Mir (director and playwright) and Natalia Carminati (artist and board representative of the PAAC). It is presented as a tool to experiment with and debate the inner workings of artistic institutions and collectives, and to reflect on what gives a project more or less value in the cultural ecosystem.

A two-part research project on the Catalan cultural ecosystem

The development of the game is based on a two-part research process. On one hand, a survey of public grant resolutions at municipal, regional, and state levels, awarded to various entities in Catalonia within the performing and visual arts sectors. On the other hand, interviews with local artists about their professional experiences and what they believe gives certain projects more value than others.

As a result of this process, the game puts players in the shoes of a cultural manager woman responsible for handling the projects, budgets, and strategies of a range of cultural entities. These range from major public institutions like the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya to independent collectives like Homesession. The ultimate goal is to reach the largest possible audience with a relevant, coherent, and financially sound cultural program.

The design of culturecapital:barcelona is by Milton Lim and Patrick Blenkarn in collaboration with Marc Villanueva Mir and Natalia Carminati. It is a project produced by Santa Mònica, in collaboration with Teatre Lliure and with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Citizens can pick up free copies at the reception of Santa Mònica while supplies last. The rules of the game are available at https://www.culturecapital.cards/rules.