Five years ago the Tyrannosaurus Rex was eclipsed by an even bigger one: the Patagotitan mayorum. The great titan of dinosaurs will rise with its almost 40 meters in length in Barcelona this autumn and will be one of the great attractions of the new season of the CaixaForum network of centers. “A journey from the past to the present and vice versa. We propose this new season as a space for critical reflection that connects with issues of great social impact”, summarized this morning Elisa Durán, deputy director general of the “la Caixa” Foundation, at the presentation of the 2023-2024 season.
Another of the most attractive exhibitions, in collaboration with the British Museum, will be revered and feared, which in the MeToo era vindicates the goddesses of 5,000 years ago but also saints, shamans or witches through sculptures, icons and sacred objects. As a national novelty, CaixaForum Valencia (opened in summer 2022 and already has one million visitors), launches Interior Berlanga, an unprecedented exhibition that vindicates the cinematographic legacy of Luis García Berlanga, while discovering his most intimate side. In total, the “la Caixa” Foundation opens 10 new exhibitions this season and another 24 will continue touring the state network of its cultural centers.
“Our objective is to continue growing in culture”, claims Durán, with the horizon of the opening of the tenth CaixaForum in Malaga, in 2026.
A statue of Aphrodite, a figure of Sekhmet (the lioness and war goddess) or a performance by Ana Mendieta or Marina Abramovic. revered and feared reviews 5,000 years of goddesses, saints, demons, rebels and witches…, that is, the different religious and spiritual beliefs that exalted the power of women. With outstanding archaeological pieces from the British Museum, this exhibition reflects on the stereotypes of feminine power and the representation of femininity. Through 166 works, ancient icons are contrasted with contemporary pieces by Abramovic, the priestess of the performance in the XXI century.
Although in the popular imagination, the Tinaronsaurius Rex holds the throne of the dinosaurs, the Patagotitan mayorum is the largest creature that has walked the earth: it could weigh around 70 tons and reach almost 40 meters long (if it extended its neck would reach the sixth or seventh floor of a building). Although a replica will be exhibited in Dinosaurios de la Patagonia, it will be possible to see a real femur from Patagotitan (2.6 meters and about 600 kilos), from a specimen discovered in the province of Chubut, in Argentine Patagonia, one of the world’s richest fossil regions. Thanks to the collaboration with the Egidio Feruglio Paleontological Museum, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona (and CaixaForum Madrid in July) will show up to 12 different species of Patagonian dinosaurs, from the oldest to the only horned carnivore.