BIENNIAL OF BALCONADAS OF BETANZOS

Betanzos, Medieval stone town with white balconies, hosts since 1988 the Biennial Balcony Painting, an international painting contest that embellishes the historic centre balconies during the summer. An already historical meeting.

Jesús Núñez, an artist from Betanzos, was the one proposing this contest as a means of bringing art to the streets and turning the city into an exhibition hall with no doors, no limits and no walls… art in broad daylight that remains during the nighttime.

The general time scheme of the contest, even though it is established on the basis of every event and can be modified, takes place in between June and September. During the month of June the pieces are received; through July they are selected, prepared, hanged and, finally, during the month of August, the jury selects the winners and awards them. During the month of September the non-awarded pieces are returned and the winning ones remain on the Council of Betanzos.

“Balconadas” (as per its Spanish name), with an average of 130 participating pieces, turns Betanzos into an open air museum with hundreds of different pictorial works, sometimes astonishing. This contest attracts international artists from all around the globe, including artists from more than 20 countries in Europe, America, Asia or Africa, countries such as Sweden, France, Switzerland, Japan, Portugal, Andorra, Italy, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Germany, Morocco, Mexico, Brazil, USA, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay, Colombia, Canada, Paraguay, Israel, etc. that coexist with national and local artists. All of them show us their worlds through the colour, form, topic and different techniques used.

“Balconadas” offers a walk through the city combining painting and architecture and offering us a unique ensemble.