Sitges Town Council has reactivated the Mercat Vell building as a temporary multi-purpose venue, and which recently opened to the public. The programme of activities planned there between October-December includes workshops, exhibitions, concerts and conferences, among other events.
In order to get the Mercat Vell back into operation, the council allocated a budget of €20,000 which has been used to carry out various improvements to the facilities.
The multi-purpose space will host presentations, film screenings, stage shows, conferences and exhibitions, all resulting from the council’s 2020 plan for cultural facilities. At the same time, further research will be undertaken to better evaluate and define the venue’s function, with the aim to reach political and citizen consensus.
The local councillor responsible for culture, Xavier Salmerón, said that ‘the department is leaving all options open and we’ll be studying all the various proposals we have on the table that must be agreed upon politically and within the social fabric of Sitges’.
The Mercat Vell is an emblematic building designed by Gaietà Buïgas in 1889, and which over the years has had various uses and functions. The local department of culture will now be responsible for the management of the site, at least for the time being.
During October, the Mercat Vell will be mainly focused on cultural activities. Firstly, the Sitges Film Festival will be occupy the space from the 7-17 October, with activities such as screenings and workshops, which were previously held at the Miramar Cultural Centre.
From the 23-24 October, the venue will be become part of the 48h Open House Barcelona, a prestigious architecture festival in Barcelona that will also be held for the first time in Sitges.
At the start of November, the Mercat Vell will then be the setting of a new edition of the Sitges Next Festival and in December it will host the concerts of the Sitges Jazz Lab. Later in December, the collective exhibition of the 35th Sanvisens Painting Competition and the 25th Pere Jou Sculpture Competition will take place, followed by a solo exhibition from the painter Jorge Alba from last year’s Sanvisens Painting Prize. A public hearing on ‘Housing and Citizen Participation’ will also be held in mid-November.
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