Gràcia Territori Sonor

Gràcia Territori Sonor (GTS) is a non-profit cultural association founded in 1996 in the Vila de Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona by a group of musicians, sound researchers and arts and communication professionals, including Víctor Nubla, Juan Crek, Bel·lo Torras, Rosa Pera, Claudi Feliu and Sergi Dolader. It emerged in response to the lack of circuits for the dissemination and promotion of musical experimentation in the city, and since its inception it has sought to foster active and creative cultural expressions that question formal certainties and give rise to new aesthetic situations. As Víctor Nubla put it, GTS programmes "normal music, because what is not normal is that everyone listens to the same music". The association is best known as the organiser, since 1996, of the Dispositiu LEM, an experimental music cycle that has been held in various formats and, as of 2023, has seen 28 editions. LEM – Encontre Internacional de Música Experimental de Gràcia - Barcelona – is a container of stylistic dissidences where the virtually infinite possibilities of sound are explored, as well as the relationship between music and other artistic forms such as polipoetry, dance, installations and different currents of contemporary improvisation. Beyond LEM, GTS runs several ongoing programmes: Encontres en l'Espai-Temps (EET), an improvisation concert cycle bringing together musicians or musicians and artists from different disciplines – performance, poetry, painting, video art – who often did not know each other until shortly before the session; Laboratori Àgape, which develops shows combining music, poetry and gastronomy, presented as a central event of LEM; Microtopies, a global call for sound miniatures that for over a decade has gathered more than 70 pieces each year from dozens of countries on practically every continent; and Teranyines, created in 2020 to further highlight and promote women as creators, in which sound and other artists meet to create joint pieces presented during the LEM Dispositiu. Although it has its own venue, GTS seeks symbiosis with spaces and entities in Gràcia and Barcelona, intervening punctually anywhere in the city and interacting within related networks and circuits. This has allowed the project to sustain itself and expand, becoming a platform for creators and a model for new emerging projects, while contributing decisively to making Gràcia a reference point for experimental music at the European level. Despite the ups and downs experienced by the association, the neighbourhood and the city over the last three decades, GTS has continued working to maintain a network of entities, venues, halls, theatres, sound laboratories, recording studios and record labels, often acting as a bridge between public and private spaces to improve – or maintain – the variety of cultural offerings in Gràcia and the whole city of Barcelona. GTS and the Dispositiu LEM have been recognised with the Medalla d'Honor de Barcelona (1997) and the Premi Altaveu (1997), as well as the EFFE seal of the European Festivals Association, a European Union initiative that distinguishes artistic cycles and festivals with outstanding involvement in the arts, their community and international projection. The association receives support from the Institut de Cultura de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona (ICUB), the Districte de Gràcia, and the Music Area of the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Gràcia Territori Sonor was founded in 1996 in the Vila de Gràcia, Barcelona, by Víctor Nubla, Juan Crek, Bel·lo Torras, Rosa Pera, Claudi Feliu and Sergi Dolader. The project was born from the initiative of a group of musicians, sound researchers and other people linked to the arts and communication in Barcelona, in response to the lack of circuits for the dissemination and promotion of musical experimentation. From the beginning it aimed to foster active and creative cultural expressions that question formal certainties and give rise to new aesthetic situations. As Víctor Nubla stated, GTS programmes "normal music, because what is not normal is that everyone listens to the same music". That same year, GTS organised the first edition of the Dispositiu LEM, an experimental music cycle that has been maintained in various formats and, as of 2023, has reached 28 editions. LEM – Encontre Internacional de Música Experimental de Gràcia - Barcelona – is a container of stylistic dissidences where the virtually infinite possibilities of sound are explored, as well as the relationship between music and other artistic forms such as polipoetry, dance, installations and different currents of contemporary improvisation. In 1997, GTS and the Dispositiu LEM were recognised with the Medalla d'Honor de Barcelona and the Premi Altaveu. Over the decades, the association has expanded its activities with several ongoing programmes. Encontres en l'Espai-Temps (EET) is an improvisation concert cycle bringing together musicians or musicians and artists from different disciplines – performance, poetry, painting, video art – who often did not know each other until shortly before the session. Laboratori Àgape develops shows combining music, poetry and gastronomy, presented as a central event of LEM. Microtopies, a global call for sound miniatures, has for over a decade gathered more than 70 pieces each year from dozens of countries on practically every continent, resulting in a sample of the paths experimentation is taking around the planet. In 2020, GTS created Teranyines to further highlight and promote women as creators; in this programme, sound and other artists meet to create joint pieces presented during the LEM Dispositiu. Despite having its own venue, GTS seeks symbiosis with spaces and entities in Gràcia and Barcelona, intervening punctually anywhere in the city and interacting within related networks and circuits. This has allowed the project to sustain itself and expand, becoming a platform for creators and a model for new emerging projects, while contributing decisively to making Gràcia a reference point for experimental music at the European level. Despite the ups and downs experienced by the association, the neighbourhood and the city over the last three decades, GTS has continued working to maintain a network of entities, venues, halls, theatres, sound laboratories, recording studios and record labels, often acting as a bridge between public and private spaces to improve – or maintain – the variety of cultural offerings in Gràcia and the whole city of Barcelona. GTS and the Dispositiu LEM have also been awarded the EFFE seal of the European Festivals Association, a European Union initiative that distinguishes artistic cycles and festivals with outstanding involvement in the arts, their community and international projection. The association receives support from the Institut de Cultura de l'Ajuntament de Barcelona (ICUB), the Districte de Gràcia, and the Music Area of the Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals (ICEC) of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

• 2023

  28th edition of the Dispositiu LEM held.

• 2020

  Creation of Teranyines, a project to promote women as creators.

• 1997

  GTS and the Dispositiu LEM awarded the Medalla d'Honor de Barcelona and the Premi Altaveu.

• 1996

  Gràcia Territori Sonor founded in Vila de Gràcia, Barcelona, by Víctor Nubla, Juan Crek, Bel·lo Torras, Rosa Pera, Claudi Feliu and Sergi Dolader.

• 1996

  First edition of the Dispositiu LEM, an experimental music cycle, organised by GTS.

Non-profit platform for experimental and improvised music, fostering stylistic dissidence and cultural variety in Barcelona and beyond.

• Dispositiu LEM

  International experimental music festival held in Gràcia, Barcelona, since 1996.

• Encontres en l'Espai-Temps (EET)

  Improvisation concert cycle bringing together musicians and artists from different disciplines.

• Laboratori Àgape

  Development of shows combining music, poetry and gastronomy, presented at LEM.

• Microtopies

  Global call for sound miniatures, gathering over 70 pieces annually from dozens of countries.

• Teranyines

  Project created in 2020 to promote women as creators through joint pieces presented at LEM.

1. 1Gràcia Territori Sonor - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Gràcia Territori Sonor - Viquipèdiaca.wikipedia.org