CERCLE 9

So, the current 'City of Barcelona Award', which will reach its sixth edition this year, evokes and honours the 1931 edition of the Barcelona as seen by its artists prize, and has AGBAR (Barcelona General Water Society) as a sponsor, bearing in mind that the inten- tion of the company —according to the very words of its president, Àngel Simon— is to promote actions on sustainable develop- ment, social structuring, economic growth and the dissemination of cultural activities. Currently, the scope of the call, which in essence respects the philosophy of its pre- decessor, is international, and its theme no longer has to be linked to a depiction of the Catalan capital. The support of AGBAR has contributed a greater breadth of scope and projection to the contest, already known as the 'AGBAR City of Barcelona Award', with an endowment —in its upcoming 2019 edi- tion— of 10,000 euros and a study stipend for the 'Panorama d'Art' cause, taught at the Institut Barcelones d'Art, the academic arm of the Reial Cercle Artistic de Barcelona, valued at 2,000 euros. The jury will be com- posed of Emmanuel Guigon, Juan Manuel Bonet, Miguel Marcos, Ángela Molina and Eugènia Balcells. I n March 1931, the Barcelona as seen by its artists artistic competition was held at the Montjuïch Palace of Decorative Arts as an initiative of the Reial Cercle Artístic, who also took charge for its convening and subsequent organization, albeit under the patronage of Barcelona City Council of Barcelona with the collaboration of the Barcelona Regional Council. The contest —which had a great reception— presented a total of three hundred and forty- five works of art, created by a large number of artists, among which were names such as Eliseu Meifrèn, Rafael Llimona (described as "evolutionist" in the article published by the La Vanguardia newspaper on April 12, 1931), Ramón Capmany, Planas Doria, Domènec Soler, Vila- Puig, Apel·les Fenosa, Oleguer Junyent or Rafael Durán, just to mention some of them. The opening speech was in charge of the then president of the organisation, Pedro Casas Abarca, and the mayor of the city, the Count of Güell. The show was received with great enthusiasm by the artistic sector. The winnings of two of the most important prizes was ten thousand pesetas each, in addition to some prizes from the collaborating organisations. But in addition, the contest has an interesting graphic documentary value, given that one of the essential requirements to participate was the theme of the works, which always had to be inspired by the city. In fact, many of the details or corners of Barcelona captured by the brushes of the participants in this first edition of the contest no longer exist. On the jury chosen to classify the works and select there winners were Ramon Casas and Joaquín Mir, together with other authority figures. City of Barcelona Award Barcelona as seen by its artists v CONTEMPORANI - CONTEMPORÁNEO - CONTEMPORARY