FiraTàrrega street art festival closes record edition with nearly 15,000 visitors

FiraTàrrega, one of the most iconic street art festivals in Europe, closed its doors this Sunday after four days of theatre performances. Tàrrega, a city near Lleida, in Western Catalonia, was the venue of 60 performances, 34 of them premieres, among which one of the most highly anticipated was ‘Manifesta’, a large format performance by Bobskené that celebrates difference while mixing text, music and circus. Between the 8^th and the 11^th of September the visitors of the fair enjoyed 263 sessions, created by 57 national and international companies, which took place in 26 different exhibition areas. 14,450 tickets were sold, in comparison to the 13,000 of last year, and the occupancy rate at the theatre shows was around 87%. 3,315 people stayed at the camping area of the event, which filled the streets with colour.

The artistic director of FiraTàrrega, Jordi Duran, stated that the show was ‘rich in content’ and that the last day ‘was a great day, with the squares filled with people’. ‘We had those little miracles of Tàrrega, when a performance is surrounded by 1,500 people” recalled Duran, who stressed that this 36th edition closes with ‘good sensations’, both in terms of general and professionals’ attendance. ‘La Llotja’, the professional space of the scene arts at the fair, welcomed 53 exhibitors and a total of 54 activities, meetings and presentations 

Chile, guest country
The 36^th edition of FiraTàrrega focused on Chile. This provided an opportunity to learn more about the art scene of this Andean country through proposals such as ‘Fulgor’ (‘brightness’), by Teatro Niño proletario; ‘Frames’ by La Licuadora; ‘Viaje nº 9’ (‘Trip number 9’), by Teatro del Sonido; and ‘La Cocina Pública’ (‘The Public Kitchen’) by Teatro Container. Besides these, there was also a conference under the title ‘The scene arts in Chile’ addressed to all the professionals taking part in the fair.

Tàrrega Fair, a tribute to multiculturalism
FiraTàrrega dedicated this year’s edition to one of the more representative values of street arts: interculturality. A wide range of productions sought to overcome specific cultural contexts and address diverse audiences.

The fair also included a selection of shows under the theme of social justice and on the construction of citizenship in today’s Europe. This year’s edition kicked of a triennium Fair, which will feature three topics to celebrate the most important characteristics of street arts. The 2017 edition will be based on the participatory nature of street arts and the 2018 edition will focus on the fact that they help us to see the shortcomings and the possibilities of the contemporary public space.