Tercentenary 1714-2014

The commemoration of the Tercentenary of 1714 fostered dialogue between the past and the present across the length and breadth of Catalonia: more than 2.2 million visitors delved into the history of the event that marks the date of celebration of Catalonia’s National Day in a spirit of celebration and reflection through 1,640 activities. MagmaCultura set up a technical office for its conceptualisation, planning and coordination.

CHALLENGE

The year 2014 marked the 300th anniversary of the fall of Barcelona in the War of the Spanish Succession. This event sought to be remembered by Catalan institutions as a civic commemoration whose organisation called for expertise in cultural consultancy and integrated management. MagmaCultura provided, on the one hand, the capacity to conceptualise a programme that would give culture a vision of the future; and, on the other hand, a tremendous capacity for coordination, on account of the volume and nature of the activities and the size of the territory.

GOALS

At MagmaCultura we set down to work with three main objectives in mind:

• To create synergies between citizens and institutions, cultural organisations, universities and social, civic and educational organisations.
• To promote access to culture and the dissemination of history among different audiences through various levels of action.
• To contribute to the restoration and promotion of cultural heritage linked to the commemoration.

TASK

To this end, we set up a technical office with an interdisciplinary team of professionals in charge of:

• Conceptualising, planning, producing and undertaking the technical management of the commemoration events and activities: talks, courses, conferences, fairs and congresses; festivals, shows, concerts; exhibitions, itineraries, guided tours; institutional events, tributes, virtual resources, etc.
• Coordinating the programming directed and developed by the hundreds of agents involved.
• Monitoring and evaluating the events held.
• Drawing up a cultural communication strategy for the events promoted by the Tercentenary Commissariat.

RESULTS

• More than 1,700 activities inside and outside Catalonia, including 22 events organised in US and European cities such as New York, Washington, Brussels, London and Paris.
• Approximately 2,200,000 participants, in addition to a large number of visitors to touring or permanent exhibitions in the public space.

KEY PROJECT FEATURES

• Proven experience in the design and planning of cultural projects for museums and institutions and cultural amenities, transferable to the organisation of a network of events and activities in the scope of the Tercentenary.
• Expert team in the conceptualisation of projects and their integrated management.
• Integration of cultural and historical dissemination with artistic creation and active citizen participation.