Programme
The first route of the museum ship will be the Mediterranean, an area of millennia of history and exchange, which has always mobilized and nourished the inspiration of artists, and naturally invites intercultural dialogue.
Discover the programme of activities on the quayside and in the towns: performances, concerts, conferences, screenings, workshops, meetings and other events.
Ibiza
Cascais
Le Havre
Tunis
Saint-Malo
Upcoming events

The "Undertow" exhibition
This exhibition explores the Mediterranean in the context of migration and exile, highlighting the work of emerging photographers from the region.

The "Under the azure" exhibition
Under the Azure is an exhibition paying tribute to the Mediterranean Sea, to the imagery it evokes, to the awe it inspires, and to the ancient and contemporary myths associated with it.

Mediterranean wonders
Embark on a journey to the Golden Age of Alexandria, Athens, and Venice! This brand-new experience, developed exclusively for the Art Explora Festival by Ubisoft, allows you to dive into the past at the heart of 3 iconic cities at the height of their splendor.

Mediterranean Sound Journey
Embark on a sonic Odyssey to discover the landscapes of the Mediterranean! Designed and produced by Ircam and Ircam Amplify for the Art Explora festival.
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Experiences on board the museum boat
Experience on reservation. Duration: 45 min.

The Present immersive exhibition
Experience on reservation. Duration: 1h00

Guided tours
Immerse yourselves to the exhibitions of Art Explora Festival with the guidance of experienced mediators.

Postcards from the Sea
In this creative workshop, children will design and create postcards from an imaginary journey across the Mediterranean. By drawing and collaging landmarks, landscapes, and motifs from various Mediterranean countries, and writing a short message on the back, they will discover the region’s rich diversity of cultures, languages, and traditions. The activity encourages imagination, artistic expression, and basic literacy through a simple yet imaginative format.

mebrat / መብራት
Adrasha’s project mebrat / መብራት explores the figure of the lighthouse as a symbol of guidance and border, translating its pulses of light into rhythms. Through field recordings, visual poetry, and personal archives, she articulates soundscapes that address displacement, communication, and belonging from a political and sensory perspective.

My continent of Africa, Beware the vampires قارتي أفريقيا، احذري مصاصي الدماء
The show takes its title from a song by Ibrahim Hesnawi, a Libyan reggae pioneer who started a musical movement that suffered political violence after Gaddafi's "Cultural Revolution" in the 1970s, when music was produced exclusively to serve the ideological propaganda of the state. The collaboration between Libyan artists Tewa Barnosa and boo.m is a sonic quest to explore reggae as a site of resistance in a time when pan-African solidarity is eclipsed and punished by imperial systems.

Ndox ak Ndox
NDOX AK NDOX is a sound performance based on the successive journeys of people from West and North Africa across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, connecting paths that represent both hope and tragedy. PASAPORTEMAN treats these waters as a body in a coma. Through sound, and accompanied by the artists Nusmaïl (Jokkoo), opo (Jokkoo), and 3xOJ (Rahgoul), he seeks to honor and revive this body so that it can tell its stories.

Interfaz 14
The Mediterranean is often a hostile border, but also a point of cultural convergence between continents. 14 kilometers of Mediterranean Sea, at its narrowest point, separate the African continent from the European one. This musical session, structured as a story, explores the African musical genres that filtered into western homes and dance floors with sounds arriving from the south, often reinterpreted through an increasingly diverse and growing diaspora at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one.
Past events

Ngomez Nokass
Ngomez Nokass, a renowned Senegalese percussion and dance group based in Barcelona and specializing in traditional rhythms such as sabar, djembe, and mbalakh, will officially open the festival. Originally formed by eight members and now expanding to over 15, the group fuses traditional Senegalese percussion with the energy of dance, offering vibrant performances filled with rhythmic patterns that are part of a long and rich cultural heritage.

Inauguration Barcelona
Opening on Thursday, March 26, starting at 5 p.m. Free admission.

Miramizu
Amman-born and Barcelona based for the last years, Miramizu is an expert in fusing disparate musical worlds into vibrant journeys. Drawn to contrast, she thrives on the friction between softness and impact, light and low-end, emotion and electricity. For her dj set at Art Explora, she will guide audiences on a sonic journey inspired by the Mediterranean, navigating textures, rhythms, and cultural echoes that reflect our shared landscape and collective experience

res_ & Coral Canigó
res_ (antes res_és_nostre) is a sound art duo that investigates the intersection between electronic music, language and visual arts, understanding sound as cultural, historical and political material. For Art Explora they present a live show based on the sampling of medieval catalan choirs, whose voices are fragmented and processed electronically, generating a dialogue between archive, technology and collective body. Their performance will be joined by 40 singers from the Canigó Choir.

mad miran
Thriving on unpredictability, whether at a festival or an intimate club, mad miran’s connection to rave culture and unique blend of electronic beats guarantee a mesmerizing performance every time, marking her as one of the most exciting DJs to watch.

Radio Alhara
Radio Alhara will join the programme of the festival with sporadic music transmissions at the village . Palestine becoming the soundtrack, the background of the Mediterranean.

Naïm Gnawa Ensemble
Naïm Gnawa Ensemble is a Moroccan traditional music ensemble based in Barcelona, specializing in the Gnawa repertoire. Led by maâlem Naim Issawa, the group performs in a large collective format rooted in ritual practice, combining percussion, ghaita trumpets and choral voices. Their music creates a shared, ceremonial experience where rhythm, repetition and collective energy play a central role.

The underwater divines are flying and floating and melting with us
A visual and sonic symphony that immerses us in the mysteries of the deep sea, while also becoming an ode to imagination and creation. Based on a film by the artist Rosa Tharrats aboard a ship on an expedition with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, the performance includes a soundtrack created in situ, in a process of dramatic and musical improvisation led by musician Mau Boada (Esperit!), singer Clara Enrich-Genestar, and poet Gabriel Ventura.

Grief and grievance: listening as learning
On this occasion, Ikram Bouloum reappropriates her technique as a selector to present "Grief and grievance: listening as learning", a listening session in which she traces a journey through different musical genres and sound archives, entering into dialogue with her referents and opening up space for new superpositions to address questions of poetic belonging.

Winds know what maps have forgotten
”Winds know what maps have forgotten” is a hands-on, immersive workshop where sound, maps, and imagination meet. Participants inhabit a large floor map of the Mediterranean to create wind-inspired soundscapes, stories and speculative narratives.
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La Bissaperie
La Bissaperie is a collective invocation of Frantz Fanon's memory through a shared reading of his texts and the preparation of bissap, a hibiscus flower drink. I propose a friendly and horizontal meeting place focused on the revolutionary ideas of the thinker and a platform for people to connect with their identity, heritage and community.

Fiction and Lies. The Role of the Novel in the World of Post-Truth
In our time of fake news, disinformation, and political manipulation, the difference between truth and lies seems increasingly unclear. Artificial intelligence can distort our perceptions, and social media encloses us in bubbles that destroy the very idea of a shared reality. In this world, what place does fiction occupy—the old craft of telling stories that never happened? Can novels contain more truth than reality as we see it? The Colombian novelist Juan Gabriel Vásquez proposes a conversation about our relationship with invented stories in an increasingly uncertain world.
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Pulso y Horizonte (Pulse and Horizon)
“Pulso y Horizonte” is an instrumental project led by Pedro Javier González, one of the most respected guitarists on the contemporary Spanish music scene. Flamenco, jazz, world music and improvisation converge in an open, celebratory proposal inspired by the Mediterranean, where rhythmic pulse and collective dialogue shape a vibrant and highly communicative musical experience.

The Drought. An oasis.
The Drought: An Oasis is a contemporary flamenco performance that brings together dance, live guitar, and flamenco singing (cante) to explore themes of water, drought, and migration. Originally created in Southern Spain, this new version of the piece is now presented in Catalonia, while keeping its strong Andalusian roots.
The show reflects on the historical impact of Francoist hydraulic policies, including the Badajoz Decree, and on the migration of Andalusian working-class communities who moved to Catalonia to work in industry and construction. These histories are translated on stage through flamenco music and movement. Some of the lyrics are sung in Catalan, alongside Spanish, as a symbolic gesture that connects flamenco with the linguistic and cultural reality of Catalonia and Barcelona. On stage, the performance features flamenco dance, live guitar, and cante, combined with a strong visual dimension. The final part of the piece takes the form of a “final de fiesta” inspired by Rumba Catalana, bringing collective energy, rhythm, and celebration to the stage.

Disco Atlas (with accompanying artists)
The concept is centered on Disco Atlas’ own artistic project, in which he invites artists to join as surprise guests. By collaborating with Gnawa musicians—specifically emerging performers rather than established Maâlems—Disco Atlas highlights how the music he plays can organically merge with live instrumentation. The aim is to demonstrate that this sound is flexible, alive, and open to reinterpretation through live performance, creating a unique and spontaneous experience each time.
Frequently asked questions
The Art Explora Festival will take place from spring 2024 to spring 2026 in various Mediterranean cities.
Festival events take place both on the museum boat's quay and in heritage and/or emblematic sites in the stopover towns. To find out all about upcoming events in your town, consult our Agenda.
The Art Explora Festival offers a rich, multi-disciplinary program including visits to the museum ship, exhibition pavilions, virtual reality experiences, artistic performances, concerts, lectures, film screenings, creative workshops and meetings. You'll be able to discover local and international artists, as well as thinkers and cultural players exploring contemporary themes related to the Mediterranean region. To find out all about upcoming events in your city, consult our Agenda.
All Festival events are free of charge. Please note, however, that some events - such as workshops - require a reservation via the ticket office. Please consult the page dedicated to each event for more information on times and booking procedures.
To ensure that everyone has the best possible experience at the Festival, we have drawn up a visitors' charter listing a few good practices.
Yes, the boat is freely accessible on site. However, you can pre-book your time online on our website.
For reasons of safety and preservation of the boat, high heels and stilettos may not be worn on the boat.
To take part in the workshops and meetings offered during the Festival, you'll generally need to register in advance. Information on how to register will be available on the dedicated event page, where you can also find details of times and how to take part.
Yes, the Art Explora Festival also offers child-friendly activities, such as creative workshops specially designed for young participants. Take a look at the program to find out about events and activities for children and families.
The museum boat is open to all free of charge. To find out on which quay it will be moored, or to pre-book your slot, consult the page dedicated to your town.
Appropriate facilities have been set up on the Festival site for the reception and access of people with reduced mobility. The boat is equipped with a 1m-wide ramp, accessible to people with reduced mobility, but may require the accompaniment of a third party due to its gradient of over 6%. Access to the aft deck and immersive exhibition is possible. However, the upper deck is not accessible. Please inform us in advance of any special accessibility requirements, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
Thank you for your interest in the Art Explora Festival! To find out more about our volunteer opportunities and to apply, please visit our "Become a volunteer"section of our website. There you'll find all the information you need about the roles available and the application procedure. We look forward to meeting you!
We're delighted to consider new partnerships for the Art Explora Festival. To find out how, please visit our dedicated page or write to us at contact@artexplora.org
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