Articket BCN

A few months ago, I visited Barcelona with my Mum. For both of us, this was our first time in the city and we wanted to make the most of it! Going in April, we knew that we weren't going to get the best weather, so we planned to visit all of the tourist attractions that Barcelona had to offer.

When we started to do our research for the trip, I came across the Articket in my Lonely Planet guide (I would highly recommend this book if you've never visited the city, it's a really handy size and is full of information). We were planning on visiting a couple of the attractions on the list, so decided to buy Artickets for both of us. This was easily the best decision that we made.

The whole process of buying an Articket on their website was really simple and we picked them up at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya ticket office. The pass itself is designed like a passport and then this is stamped in each gallery when you arrive. It makes the whole experience feel exclusive and is a really nice touch.

So what do you actually get for €30 each (apart from a totally Instagrammable passport)? The main benefit of the ticket is saving roughly 45% on the entrance price to 6 galleries around Barcelona. Another great benefit is being able to smugly walk past the long queues of people and getting to spend more time in the galleries themselves. And, of course, there's discovering the art (and history) of a city and, in fact, a whole country.

The Museums Themselves

(A Series of Mini Reviews)

The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) 

This museum has a programme of different exhibitions, focussing on culture and creativity. The exhibition 'Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design' was the main exhibition on during our visit (and runs until 28th August 2016). It showcases a whole range of work of over 120 African artists and creators and more information can be found here. I knew nothing of the exhibition before we got to the museum, but it was actually one of the highlights of the trip. It was put together brilliantly, and all the spaces were full of works of different mediums. On entering the first room, you could pick up a newspaper, which described, in detail, each individual piece in a variety of languages (which I am very grateful for, as I don't speak a single word of Catalan!). This works so much better at engaging people than most traditional exhibition programmes and cleared away confusing labels. If I do go back to Barcelona (which I hope I do!), I look forward to seeing what the next exhibition will be!

Fundació Antoni Tàpies 

OK. I'll be honest. I hadn't heard of Antoni Tàpies before we visited Barcelona (don't tell my University lecturers!). Whilst the exhibition was interesting, it was a relatively small space upstairs where his works were displayed and so they had chosen to only show some of his early works. Whilst I understand that the works were delicate, unfortunately I learnt little about the artist throughout his career. Downstairs was a selection of works by artists contemporary to Tàpies and did make the visit much more interesting. 

Fundació Joan Miró 

We visited this gallery just a couple of weeks after the exhibition was supplemented by additional paintings to mark the foundation's 40th anniversary. This meant that there was a great range of works from throughout his career. I really enjoyed how the whole of the building was used to display his sculptures, and the roof terrace had some great views over Barcelona.

MACBA 

This gallery makes use of its own collection, but also has many spaces for temporary exhibitions. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of visiting this after a long day of walking around the city in the rain, so definitely didn't make the most of it! I would recommend leaving more time than you think you need for this (don't make the same mistake we did) and checking out each of the individual exhibitions.

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya 

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting from the national art museum, but I didn't quite anticipate such a great range of art. The collection covers Catalan art of all periods, from Romanesque mural painting to Velázquez to furniture designed by Gaudi. We spent hours wandering around and could have spent a lot longer there. You can also make the most of the area, explore the gardens of Montjuïc and enjoy the view. Regardless of whether or not you buy an Articket, this museum is a must-visit.

Museu Picasso 

Probably the busiest of all the galleries, which is no real surprise, this was the best gallery to utilise the Articket's queue-jumping ability! The gallery showcases works from Picasso's formative years, but also some select works (including prints and ceramics), from later in his career. This is another must-visit when in Barcelona, as the gallery explores the artist's connection to the city.

There really are no negatives to purchasing an Articket when visiting Barcelona. In the past, I have avoided buying tickets for multiple attractions because I thought that I wouldn't enjoy some of them. How wrong I was! This is definitely something that I will look into in other cities. If you know of any others, please let me know!

My Top Tips:

• Go early. Yes, you can use the Articket to skip the queues (which is really useful when you visit in the afternoon), but there is so much to see at some of the galleries that you will want to spend as much time as you can at them. They are also some of the most visited galleries in the world, so they do get busy!
• Plan your week around your visits. You don't want to spend unnecessary time travelling around, so see what else is in the area.
• Make the most of what else Barcelona has to offer and explore the different parts of the city when you travel to them. 
• Find out which museums you can take photos in (but be respectful of other people around you if you do take your camera).
• Use the lockers in each museum. You don't want to carry around a heavy bag, especially in a busy gallery, and most of the galleries have lockers and cloakrooms that you can take advantage of.
• Check the opening times. Some of the galleries are closed on Mondays, so check in advance to make sure you won't be disappointed.
• Take your time. The great thing about the Articket is that you skip the queues and spend more time in the galleries.
• Don't be put off if you haven't heard of an artist. The Articket is perfect for discovering Spanish artists of all periods and I have a few new favourites! 
• Don't be afraid to use the Metro. I don't know why I was uneasy about using public transport, but it actually became a really important thing for our trip. Walking around an unfamiliar city can be interesting, but doing it every single day definitely takes it out of you, and means that you spend less time in the attractions. After some advice from our landlady, we bought a T-10 ticket for the Metro. This was a multi-person ticket (which I don't think we have in the UK), and was only €9.95 for 10 journeys - perfect!

If you have visited Barcelona and have used the Articket, I would love to hear what you thought of the experience.

More information about the Articket BCN can be found at their website.

You can pick up one of the Lonely Planet guides mentioned in this review here.

York Art Gallery

York Art Gallery and Exhibition Square (©York Museums Trust)

York Art Gallery, part of York Museums Trust, reopened on the 1st August 2015 after a major redevelopment, spanning over 2 years, and costing £8 million. I first moved to York in 2013, and left this June, so I never had the opportunity to visit whilst I lived there, even though I only lived around the corner, and studied at King’s Manor, right next door. Recently, I went back to York, and one of my priorities was visiting the newly opened gallery. I am really glad that I had the opportunity, as the redevelopment has been very successful. 

The gallery originally opened in 1879 for the Second Yorkshire Fine Art and Industrial Exhibition, and in 1892, it became the City Art Gallery. The gallery’s collections and exhibitions are varied, and include more than 2,000 ceramic works, a number of Italian Old Masters, and artworks depicting York, including L.S. Lowry’s paintings of Clifford’s Tower (on display until March 2016). They also have the largest collection of William Etty works, and his statue stands at the front of the gallery, in Exhibition Square.

The newly refurbished gallery has a number of different spaces, filled with different artworks from its collections, and loaned from elsewhere. The renovation celebrates the architecture of the building, including its original Victorian features, and many rooms are flooded with natural light. Instead of listing off all of the exhibitions and displays, here are just some of my favourites, and some highlights from the collection.

One of the most unique aspects of the gallery is the Centre of Ceramic Arts (CoCA), which displays the Trust’s collection of British studio ceramics. It includes a 17 metre long ‘Wall of Pots’, which is organised and curated by colour, creating a rainbow across the length of one of the rooms. I found myself spending more time considering the colour, form and technique of ceramics than ever before. It is a unique way of displaying such a collection, but works incredibly well.

In the same space is the Anthony Shaw collection, displayed in a domestic style, echoing his London home. I personally really liked the domestic aspect to the display, which raised questions, for me, about the functions of ceramics, and what they mean and represent in the home. It also offers a glimpse into Shaw’s mind, and his ideas behind collecting in the way that he did. It automatically also becomes a more relaxing environment (although I was worried I was going to knock a piece over!). 

Clare Twomey’s ‘Manifest: 10,000 Hours’, specially commissioned for the new gallery, is incredibly effective. It fills the mezzanine space, echoing the white space and light created by the Victorian roof. Also in the room is Grayson Perry’s ‘Melanie’, one of ‘The Three Graces’, created in 2014. Both pieces, and others in the exhibition, make you question the role of ceramics, and appreciate them for pieces of art, as well as a traditional craft, something that is often forgotten in a more traditional display of ceramics. Throughout the gallery, I also appreciated the ability to walk around many of the works, and being able to view them from all angles.

Manifest: 10,000 Hours, Clare Twomey (©York Museums Trust)

Downstairs is an exhibition titled ‘A Picture of York’, which contains a variety of artworks depicting York itself. The Trust has a collection of 4000 pieces of work like these, and the room highlights some of the most important pieces. The three L.S. Lowry pieces depicting Clifford’s Tower are also brought together, but make sure you visit soon, as it is planned that they will only be on display together until March 2016.

Without a doubt, my favourite space in the gallery is that created by York based artist Mark Herald: ‘The Lumbar Room: Unimagined Treasurers’. It has been curated by Herald, with objects from York Museum Trust’s collections, and his responses to them. As a result, the room is full of unusual objects, and is a mix between museum exhibition and artwork, creating a modern cabinet of curiosities of Yorkshire. Next to The Lumbar Room is The Studio, a space full of different materials that is used for activities and school visits. During our visit, it was open for anyone to use and enjoy. It doesn’t feel like a classroom, and invites visitors to create their own responses to the gallery.

There are many more rooms and exhibitions that I haven’t mentioned, including works from two hundred years of British Art, and the Lycett Green collection, which brings together works from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

The gallery has a great variety of works, of different mediums, and from throughout the centuries. I felt like I also gained a real understanding of the story behind the background of the collection, and the importance of art, and the gallery itself, to York’s culture, and its community. The gallery has a very inviting atmosphere, and the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Every detail of the refurbishment has been considered, from the design, to the curation, to the visitor experience. The Museum Gardens have also been renovated to the rear of the gallery, but thanks to the 'Great British Weather', the rain put me off exploring, so I will have to take a look at them the next time I am in York.

The gallery’s website includes lots of useful information about visiting. I would personally recommend parking in Marygate Car Park, as it is just around the corner. If you are getting a train or bus to York, the train station is a five minute walk on the other side of the river (local tip- there is a footbridge across the river from one end of Margate carpark right into the train station itself), and busses stop regularly outside the gallery. There is a cafe in the gallery, with a wide selection of high-quality food and drink, but it is in the centre of York, so there is plenty of choice and other options nearby. 

The gallery has something for everyone, with collections spanning 600 years. One of the best things about it, is its success in representing art created in York and throughout the region, and celebrating the best of York’s culture.

In my mind, it is one of the best cultural attractions in York, and will no doubt remain so for many years to come.

More information about York Art Gallery can be found at: www.yorkartgallery.org.uk


Unfortunately, I was too busy and taken in by the artworks to take any photographs, and so in this post, all images are from the York Museums Trust.