They set up groups, foundations and associations of all kinds, each of them duly staffed with a chairman and a secretary, and proceed to convene competitions, special gatherings, symposiums and seminars destined to provide material they use to plump up their annual reports. In consequence, the panorama could not be more pessimistic. Public positions and buildings cannot continue to be doled out as if this were some kind of banana republic. Rather we must follow the model established by the British Council and the Swedish Council for the Arts, Architecture and Urbanism. Barcelona's cultural and artistic life cannot match that of the European cities with which it is now on an equal footing in the tourist ratings.
Coherent programming is impossible.
Its lack of support for the Grec Festival, for instance, is indefensible. In Catalonia, the fashion is to speak of 'cultural management' rather than of culture. We have forgotten the theatre of reflection and its social function. There's no artistic risk-taking in Spanish theatre, discounting very few notable exceptions. We're running the risk of losing our enthusiasm.