These were the ingredients of last weekend that saw Daily Inspiration invited to participate to a 3 days event in Bilbao organized by the Guggenheim museum. I was literally honoured to be the representative of DI in such a unique event.
The event saw 11 international bloggers travel from their European cultural hubs to Bilbao, a recently reinvented capital of art, design and culture. The visit allowed us to discover the Basque city from an artistic, historic, cultural, architectural and gastronomic point of view. The event worked as a catalyst for an eclectic exchange of perspectives and opinions amongst influential writers and critics with different backgrounds and views on the current state of design, art and architecture- and wine.
The Guggenheim guided visit in itself was an extraordinary experience for the whole team with unique insight and secrets on the work of Frank Gehry– the architect responsible for the creation of this inimitable architecture’s milestone. Our proud Basque guide took us on an historic journey that started in the early days of the 20th century all the way down to the deep economic crisis at the end of 80s industrial Bilbao from which the recent cultural revolution could blossom. A pivotal moment that saw the city’s council decision to transform the city in a European art capital. Revolution based on a terrific combination, the “Guggenheim effect” and the genius of Frank Gehry. The extremely detailed explanation of the architectural and iconographical elements making up the monolithic structure was a great add on the whole experience. The Guggenheim in Bilbao is an example of an art container that is an art form in itself, a building that is in a continuous transformation process with an exciting interplay of forms, lights, perspectives and surprises with the outdoors installations created by some of the most influential international artists to amaze tourists.
Then, it was time to visit the temporary and permanent exhibitions set out on the building’s three floors, which by the way looks even more magnificent from the inside. Current exhibition include the “Riotous Baroque” and “L’art en guerre”. This last exhibition saw me ecstatically excited to see some originals from Hans Bellmar’s Doll project, a mentor since early age and loyal source of inspiration during the years. To remark the vast collection of works from leading artists such as Duchamp, Dali, Jurgen Teller, DeChirico, Picasso and many more to satisfy even the most eager and fervent art lover. This exhibition is a celebration of art and its perpetual advancements overcoming impossible circumstances that war brings about.
The day was followed by a fun tour through the city with particular attention to the complete redesign of the city in the past 20 years with a final celebration in two of the most typical bars in Bilbao enjoying the famous and delicious Pintxos-similar to Spanish tapas to foreign eyes but be careful, Basque people are way too proud for you to fall into such a sinful mistake.
To conclude I would like share the video of the event and thank Guggenheim museum and every single member of the staff that made the event possible, an event that to my eyes was a celebration of the rising importance of blogs as a unique entity in the global communication landscapes leaving us at Daily Inspiration even more compelled to constantly deliver quality content to our readers.
