The world of international independent art meets at the twelfth edition of the Barcelona Contemporary Art Fair that will take place from 26th to 29th September in the Pabellón Italiano in the Fira Montjuïc. SWAB 2019 reflects on the role of art in the face of socio-political challenges bringing together around 300 artists and 75 galleries from all around the world. Without a doubt, one of the strong points of this year’s edition is the possibility of visiting the fair in real-time online, as well as being able to purchase works from the stands, thanks to the prestigious platform ARTSY.

All the disciplines, from the classical ones such as painting and sculpture to the more contemporary ones such as digital, performance or installation art, are used by the artist to channel and connect to the spectator.This year, SWAB programme includes new sections and the majority of the works revolve around the search for and return to the roots, in a path that goes from the primitive to the digital. The introduction, for the first time, of México en Femenino, that backs four artists who work around the female figure, rethinking and reclaiming their position through burning issues such as colonialism and its participation in art. For example, María Conejo‘s work (Morelos, Mexico, 1988, Galería Pequeños Bribones) addresses the study of the female body as a symbol of resilience.

Also ‘Swab Video Box, The identity Shadow’ will be introduced, a space that is exclusively dedicated to artistic exploration through video art. Swab on Paper exhibits the work of several artists who make use of geometry and abstraction as a means of expressing unstable and unbalanced space. Of course, there will also be key contemporary performance art pieces in the Swab Performance focused on digital art. Swab Ephemeral, supports the creative fabric of the city with proposals by artists who are residents in art factories of Barcelona; MYFAF, that this year increases from 3 to 4 galleries; Swab Reading, the space dedicated to exploring the world of publishing as an artistic medium and the book as a piece of art.Swab Seed for independent spaces that are on the cutting-edge of the art scene. As every year, SWAB presents a series of awards to assess talent from different perspectives and SWAB Kids will be the space dedicated to the children’s audience, a place where creativity has no limits.The programme will be closed by a cycle of talks mediated by SWAB Thinks, amongst which it is worth highlighting that by the Fundación Josep Santa Creu, which aims to give visibility to the artistic talent of people with functional diversity, mental health issues or at risk of exclusion.

This year also there will be exclusive visits to the private collections of the city and there will be collaborations with Fundació Tàpies, Mies Van der Rohe Foundation and the Reial Cercle d’Arts in Barcelona.

SWAB Barcelona is not solely aiming to be an important platform for innovative aesthetic experiences, but also to introduce audiences to works that use art as a tool to build new and necessary reflections and to create different exhibiting experiences with interesting proposals by artists who care about the direct relationship between the work of art and the spectator.

With the participation of a large number of international collectors, SWAB 2019 will reach the mission to consolidate the city of Barcelona as an artistic platform of reference?