Festival 42
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Fabra i Coats Centre d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona Carrer de Sant Adrià 20, 08030 Barcelona
We humans grow up with fears. Some are inherited from our ancestors. Others stem from the situation at any given time. Still others are due to uncertain futures. But from the times of fireside storytelling until today, the fantastic genres have provided a refuge from this overwhelming atavistic feeling by creating new worlds with stories that include an action plan for what is to come or by adopting an artistic perspective that beautifies the ugliness of our times. The sixth 42 Barcelona Festival of Fantastic Genres will face these fears the best way possible: with non-mimetic works and perspectives. From 4 to 8 November, Fabra i Coats will once again host more than one hundred novel, essay and comic authors from all over the world. And it will yet again become the refuge of questing, curious, open-minded readers.
Faced with a new fear that is taking root powerfully, reflections on AI and how fantastic works are exploring its future effects will be one of the themes of this sixth edition of the 42 Festival. So will an area that engages in dialogue with artificial intelligence every single day: art. Is it doomed by the misuse of this tool? Regardless of the answer, there is plenty of art in works in the fantastic genres and many non-mimetic features in paintings and architecture, like Gaudí’s, who is being honoured this year on the centennial of his death and whose works will be featured in the guided tours.
The sixth 42 Festival will also explore the different forms fear takes, with two conventions on Lovecraft and ghost stories, and a tribute to one of the fathers of contemporary horror and fantasy, Richard Matheson, on the centennial of his birth. There will also be room for fantastic works that examine our current fears by suggesting political alternatives through their stories and creating worlds that open up infinite possibilities to the imagination. All of this will be explored through talks, lectures, workshops, book signings, exhibitions and tours featuring the top names in the fantastic literary scene, both local and international, which will share the stage with promising new authors.
For more events check our online events calendar.
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