Barcelona: When the Shops Close, the Art Opens

Spain’s Shadiest Art Scene

Who needs an art gallery when you can wander the streets of Barcelona?

During our wake-ourselves-with-coffee walks around the L’Hospitalet de Llobregat district, as well as our wear-off-our-supper strolls, we discovered that retailers didn’t all open at the same time. Some sold goods in the morning, while their neighbours chose the evening window.

In our wee neck of the woods in North America, we are used to consistent and predictable store hours. Barcelona doesn’t abide by Dolly Parton’s hours. (That’s 9 to 5 for those of you who didn’t have parents obsessed with the Tennessee singer.) Businesses in Spain’s second-biggest city are generally open 9:30-1:30 and 4:30-8:30 pm. Some are open as late as 10:00 pm.

This makes for an even more fascinating ‘gallery walk’ through our favourite neighbourhood. Why?

Varying shop hours + metal blinds + loads of colourful paint = an ever-changing world of art.

Let me explain.

Safe to Say

What does a business do when it isn’t flashing the open sign and trying to make some moola? Giant slats are lowered. These window coverings are known as persianas (officially called persianas enrollables or roller shutters). Cierres metálicos (metal ones) are the most common. Think of a mammoth version of what the arena kitchen wrestled down when they ran out of hot dogs.

The “shutters are a hallmark of Spanish urban design, often used for extra protection during the day and fully secured at night, protecting shops against break-ins”, explains one Reddit participant. Another adds, “There is a Spanish expression used to say you have closed a business: ‘bajar la persiana’. Literally, ‘roll down the shutter’. So it’s kinda how it has been done since forever.”

What does safety have to do with art?

Many of the persianas enrollables have become creative canvases. Some of the art is directly related to the place of business. Some is not. As evidenced in my photos, the odd one is covered in graffiti, though this isn’t as common as it used to be.

“Street art in Barcelona has a storied history deeply intertwined with the global urban art scene, making it a renowned hub for graffiti and urban expression,” spells out writer Giulia ‘BLocal’ Riva in her independent street art blog.The city is not only the birthplace of Montana Colors, the iconic spray paint brand designed for graffiti and urban art, but it was also once considered Europe’s graffiti and street art capital.”

She also gives a brief history of how graffiti morphed into a different type of art.

Around 2006, Barcelona’s city council threw up its hands in frustration and laid down the hammer: new laws with fines up to 3,000 euros (nearly $5,000 CAD) went hand-in-paintbrush with whitewashing what the city considered “civil disturbances”. The scribbles were painted over. Sometimes, again and yet again. Eventually, many of the illicit and illegal creators got the hint.

Businesses began commissioning art on their walls and shades. And here is some of what you glimpse in the L’Hospitalet de Llobregat district.

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