Within the framework of the Visual Arts Promotion Plan, the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies (ICEC)—through the SDE and in collaboration with the Panoràmic Festival—is organizing a professional event aimed at reflecting on the challenges facing contemporary cultural journalism and creating a space for dialogue among professionals, creators, and the public.
We are living through a period of profound transformation in the way public discourse circulates, and art criticism is no exception. Traditional newspapers and media outlets—which for decades served as the primary space for constructing, disseminating, and legitimizing critical judgment on contemporary art—have seen their influence as cultural tastemakers diminish. Today, a significant portion of the conversation surrounding the visual arts takes place through new digital channels and formats: specialized platforms, online magazines, podcasts, social media, newsletters, and independent projects—all of which have come to play an increasingly vital role in the creation and distribution of content.
This new landscape compels us to revisit some fundamental questions: Who performs the critical function today? Who shapes opinion and narratives regarding contemporary art? From what platforms do they speak, which audiences do they reach, and by what authority?
This event aims to explore these issues by drawing on the experiences of cultural journalists, managers of digital platforms, artists, and content creators who are actively involved in shaping contemporary cultural discourse. Beyond analyzing the evolution of cultural journalism and art criticism, the event seeks to provide tools for understanding how the mechanisms of mediation, influence, and legitimation are currently structured within the visual arts—and to examine the challenges this new ecosystem poses for the future of the sector.
Objectives
– To analyze the impact of digital transformation on cultural journalism and art criticism.
– To identify the agents, platforms, and formats currently involved in constructing discourse around the visual arts. – To debate the role of social media, podcasts, independent publishing projects, and other emerging spaces for cultural mediation.
– To reflect on current mechanisms of recommendation, authority, and critical legitimation.
– To share the experiences and perspectives of professionals working within these new ecosystems of cultural communication.
Program
09:40 – 10:00
Registration and welcome coffee
10:00 – 11:30
The artist as a media agent. How artists generate narratives and critical discourse without journalistic intermediation. Activism and the self-management of discourse.
– Daniel García Andújar. Visual artist, activist, and new media theorist.
– Clàudia Rius. Cultural journalist and editor-in-chief at *Núvol*.
11:45 – 13:15
From the newsroom to the feed: where criticism happens today. Has criticism changed its medium, its nature, or has it disappeared altogether?
– Joan Maria Minguet Batllori. Art historian and critic.
– Toni Ribas. Deputy director of the newspaper *Ara*.
– Carolina Ciuti. Cultural journalist and editor at *Exibart España*.
13:15 – 14:15
Lunch and networking
14:15 – 15:45
Curated digital platforms as spaces for criticism and dissemination. Independent platform models as alternatives to traditional spaces for cultural criticism and mediation. Who legitimizes discourse on art? Critical authority, algorithms, audiences, and the precarious nature of the sector.
– Montse Badia. Curator, art historian, and co-founder of A*Desk.
– Iván de la Nuez. Writer, essayist, and curator.
– Judith Méndez. Cultural communicator specializing in art history.
– Carmen Corbera. Creator and host of the podcast *El Mundo del Arte*.
→ Session moderated by Roberta Bosco, a journalist specializing in contemporary art.
30/11/2026. More information here