– The objective of Casa Navàs is to spread the work and the figure of the prestigious Catalan architect
– The historical re-enactment festival ‘Reus, 1900. Festa Modernista’ stands out.
Casa Navàs will organize twelve activities, one per month, to commemorate the centenary of the death of the architect who designed it. This highly transversal program allows one to discover the many facets of Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Among all the acts that are presented, the historical recreation festival ‘Reus 1900. Festa Modernista’, the exhibition ‘Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Patrimoni de la Humanitat’ and two new guided tours: one led by Domènech himself and the other by the dance company Indra Dance Company. All this will culminate in a final surprise that will be revealed in December. In addition, as the result of a collaboration with El Tomb de Reus and the Unió de Botiguers, you can visit the house for only 7 euros until June.
Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a polyhedral figure, beyond his best-known facet, that of an architect, he also stood out for his political, historian and humanist side It is precisely this transversal character that Casa Navàs wants to spread with the extensive program that it has presented on the occasion of the Domènech i Montaner Year. There are a dozen activities among which we will find historical recreations, exhibitions, dramatized visits, dance, conferences, painting and workshops the objective of Casa Navàs is to make visible the figure of this prestigious architect who, despite having built buildings as imposing as Casa Navàs, the Institut Pere Mata, the Palau de la Música or the Hospital Sant Pau, is still unknown to some.
The schedule for the first semester of the year is detailed below:
· January: Special promotion discount checks to visit Casa Navàs
o Campaign start: January 31
o Discount checks will be distributed in establishments associated with the Unió de Botiguers and El Tomb de Reus
o With the collaboration of Unió de Botiguers and El Tomb de Reus
Casa Navàs will kick off the Domènech i Montaner Year with a collaboration campaign with the Unió de Botiguers and El Tomb de Reus that will allow visitors to visit the house for only 7 euros. In total, 15,000 discount checks will be provided to each entity so that they can distribute them among their associates. Establishments will be able to give these discount checks to customers who make a minimum purchase of 20 euros. This campaign aims to seek alliances with the city’s businesses and, at the same time, offer the people of the area the possibility of discovering this unique modernist jewel in the world at a very low price.
– The discount is 3 euros on the price of the general admission of the guided tour (10 euros).
– It is a discount that cannot be combined with other offers.
– This discount voucher can be used from January 30 to June 15. Weekends and holidays are exempt, as well as the entire Easter Week.
– This discount check must be exchanged at the door of Casa Navàs
– This discount can be used as long as there are seats available.
· February: Collective photographic exhibition ‘Mirant la Casa Navàs’
o From February 28 to March 12
o Location: Casa Navàs store
‘Mirant la Casa Navàs’ (Looking at Casa Navàs) is a collective photographic exhibition. It provides the images of amateur photographers who have attended the Photographic Visits of Casa Navàs and professional photographers from the region who, at some point, have captured the magic of such a special building. You’ll enjoy the gaze of Josep Maria Ribas Prous, Carles Fargues, Fabián Acidres, Laia Solanellas, Olívia Molet, Pierre Grubius, Alba Mariné or Joan Capdevila, among others.
· March: Premiere of the new dramatized visit guided by Domènech i Montaner ‘Un somni amb caràcter’
o Saturday, March 18
· Visit the noble floor and shop of Casa Navàs
‘Un somni amb caràcter’ (A Dream with Personality) is a dramatized visit led by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. In it, we will not only discover the character and concerns of Domènech, but also the character of a building as unique as Casa Navàs; the dream of a couple of textile merchants who wanted to connect with the world. Actor and member of Producciones Lucky Luke, Manuel Barroso, will impersonate the figure of the architect while he reveals the main floor and the shop of the house to the visitors, and recounts Domènech’s relationship with the Reus city.
It is a visit filled with anecdotes and curiosities we are certain will make the visitor rediscover Casa Navàs and its architect. Currently, this visit will only be scheduled for March, but the will is that it will continue throughout the entirety of the Domènech i Montaner Year.
· April: Reus 1900. Festa Modernista
o April 15 and 16
o Plaça del Mercadal and Casa Navàs
As it was the second city of Catalonia, it is not surprising that so many modernist buildings were built in Reus. The high bourgeoisie wanted to reflect their social status and for this, they commissioned majestic houses to be built for them that did not go unnoticed by those who walked through the streets and squares of the city. During Modernism, 54 constructions were designed in Reus. Undoubtedly, the most prolific architect of this movement in Reus was the municipal architect, Pere Caselles, and the one who made the most important constructions was Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Fortunately, the city of Reus preserves a good part of these modernist buildings, headed by the Casa Navàs located in the heart of the city.
Taking advantage of the Domènech i Montaner Year as a premise, Casa Navàs and the Reus
Promotion Agency organize the historical recreation festival ‘Reus 1900. Festa Modernista’. An event that will revolve mainly between the Plaza del Mercadal and the Casa Navàs, and that has the will to count on the complicity of many other agents involved. The objective is to flag the years in which the city of Reus became the motor of the country and position the city as one of the main modernist squares in Catalonia.
· May: II Casa Navàs Rapid Painting Contest
o Saturday, May 20
o Plaza del Mercadal
o With the collaboration of Art Gallery
After the success achieved in 2019 with the first edition of the Casa Navàs Rapid Painting Contest, this year comes the second edition. This is a contest for all lovers of painting that aims to immortalize the façade of Casa Navàs, this time with the reconstructed frontispiece.
As in the previous edition, there will be three categories based on age. The winner of the adult category will take €600; that of juveniles, a tablet; and the one for children, painting material valued at €100.
· June: School exhibition: ‘Fes la teva casa modernista’
o From June 5 to 15
o With the collaboration of Centre Recursos Pedagògics del Baix Camp
The idea of the ‘Fes la teva casa modernista’ (Make your own modernist house) project is for students to put themselves in the shoes of Domènech i Montaner, to become architects and design their own modernist building. As it happened in this artistic movement, there are no more limits when it comes to creating than those of the imagination. Of course, it is not worth doing just anything; some of the characteristics of architecture and applied/decorative arts of Modernism must be reflected in the proposed houses.
Like modernist buildings, the students’ projects have to be collective. In addition, the new school curriculum and some of the knowledge of artistic education and audiovisual education must also
be considered. All the works presented will be exhibited during the month of June in the old Casa Navàs textile shop.
Activities planned for the second half of the year
Looking ahead to the second semester of 2023, the activity at Casa Navàs related to the Domènech i Montaner Year will continue to be frantic. When the date approaches, every detail of the activities will be revealed. The events that will be scheduled are listed below:
· July: Dance. ‘La Casa Navàs com a font d’inspiració’ (Casa Navàs as a source of inspiration)
o With the collaboration of Indra Dance Company (Anna Borràs and Daniel Navarro)
· August: Casa Navàs vermouth presentation
· September: III Cycle of Conferences ‘Casa Navàs, testimonis Modernistes’
· October: Exhibition: ‘Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Patrimoni de la Humanitat’
o Organized by CDIM
· November: Heraldry Workshop
· December: Final surprise!