Elena Sariñena: “Barcelona is different every time you go out on the street”
Barcelona as a source of inspiration. That is the common thread used by 18 amateur photographers to create Vincles, a photographic exhibition in Barcelona that we can enjoy at the Hotel REC BCN until April 30th. This diverse group was gradually formed first through social media and then in person: “we met on Instagram and decided to do something, since we had many concerns. We saw that there was a good level and that we could organize an exhibition”, states Elena Sariñena(@elenasarinena), the driving force behind this brilliant initiative. “We convinced each other and in the end, a group of 18 photographers was created. All amateurs, except for Óscar García Ortega (@oscar_bcn), who is a graphic designer and professional photographer”.
Una vez conformado el grupo tocaba ponerse manos a la obra: “yo ya había expuesto a nivel particular y producir una exposición es algo muy emocionante que implica buscar espacio, patrocinadores… Y cuando ves el resultado de tu trabajo ahí expuesto es sencillamente espectacular”, afirma Sariñena. Lo que al principio pudo parecer una idea alocada, fue cristalizando quedada tras quedada: “llevábamos con este proyecto en mente desde el año pasado, y empezamos a darle forma tras las vacaciones de verano”. Durante el proceso, la mayor dificultad fue siempre establecer un quórum para tirar adelante: “trabajar con un grupo es complicado a veces, hay que tomar decisiones, consultar a todos, no siempre es factible coincidir porque algunos viven lejos...”
Even so, the immense enthusiasm of this group of people, coupled with the excellent quality of the material presented, made what a few months ago could have been just a dream come true.
With that energy and a shared passion for Barcelona, it was only a matter of time before the paths of Núñez i Navarro and Vincles_bcn would meet again. It had already happened in 2017 with exclusive visits to Hotel 1898, The Corner Hotel, Hotel REC BCN, or the refurbished Torre Enric Cera. “I met Enrique Alcocer, product director of Núñez i Navarro Hotels, at an event and suggested that we had a photographic exhibition project about Barcelona that could fit in one of the company's hotels. And here we are”, states Elena Sariñena with the pride of a mother at the success of her children.
Thus, for two months, the REC lounge displays 32 original photos from these 18 photographers, two for each author except for Sariñena herself, Carolina González, David Montón, and David Carreras who contribute just one image each. The reason for this unique distribution comes from a previous exhibition held last month at the Centre Veïnal Calàbria 66 where, due to space constraints, only that number of images could be displayed. Even so, for Elena “it was a very positive experience, it gave us a surge of energy to see the excellent response the neighborhood gave us right from the opening of the exhibition”.
That was the beginning of a touring exhibition with which they hope to continue sharing their passion with all the people of Barcelona: “We are looking forward to presenting our project in other venues with these and other photos that we sell for the benefit of the Asperger Syndrome Association Girona (SAGI). Fortunately, we have many photos of Barcelona”.
Precisely Barcelona was the essential requirement to participate in this exhibition. From there, the theme was open: landscapes, architecture, street photography, people... offering us 18 different ways of seeing Barcelona, “a non-touristic Barcelona, spaces unknown to the general public and always seen from our perspective”. Given this premise, the following question is inevitable: What inspires Barcelona? Elena Sariñena has a clear answer: “Barcelona is different every time you go out on the street. Every day it offers something new. The same place is not the same in the morning or at night”.
And for those who think that being an Instagrammer involves spending half your salary on a professional camera, Elena warns us: “at the exhibition, there are photos taken with a camera and others with a mobile phone. All of them are of great quality and printed at 30x40cm”. But although having a Smartphone or a good camera helps, our experience talking with photographers teaches us that the first step to achieving more than an acceptable photo is to train our photographic eye. That means learning from what others do. Discovering new points of view, new perspectives, and approaches. And for that, the Hotel REC BCN is, until April 30th, the best place in Barcelona. It's a must-visit.
