The 15th edition of Manifesta, the European nomadic biennial, is set against the backdrop of the Capitalocene—a term that frames the contemporary era as shaped by the capitalist exploitation of resources—and explores the potential for art to foster a more inclusive view of ecological balance. On view in Barcelona from September 08 - November 24, 2024, the biennial aspires to reimagine sustainability beyond conventional environmental concerns. It positions sustainability as a broader ethical and philosophical framework, one that recognises the interconnectedness of humans and non-human entities.

The biennial encourages viewers to consider the unique experiences and agency of non-human entities. This approach aims to shift traditional perspectives, where nature is seen merely as a resource. When the Municipality of Barcelona, under the former Mayor Ada Colau, invited Manifesta to host an edition in the metropolitan region, key questions emerged, as the biennial’s catalogue notes - among them, ‘How can Manifesta transgress the natural boundaries of the city - the mountains, the rivers and the sea?' and 'How can Manifesta help create an alternative, integrated cultural ecosystem that links the cities in the metropolitan region with one another instead of with Barcelona's historic core?’ These questions emphasised a need to reimagine the relationship between natural and built environments, especially as the region faces acute challenges like climate change and an ongoing drought.

Manifesta director Hedwig Fijen, emphasising the urgency of these questions, comments to STIR: “If we want to make the city more green, then immediately gentrification is going to be part of the social transition. If we want to beat mass tourism, it will hurt the economy and people might lose their jobs. So that's why we talk about eco-social transition,” she explains. Over the years, Barcelona has become one of Europe's top tourist destinations. Mass tourism in Barcelona is a significant phenomenon with both positive and negative impacts on the city's economy, culture and environment. To address the challenges posed by mass tourism, Barcelona's local government has implemented several strategies, including tighter regulations on short-term rentals, promoting tourism outside the city centre and implementing a "Strategic Tourism Plan" to achieve a more sustainable tourism model.

Manifesta’s response to these challenges is to focus on decentralisation and participatory methodologies for knowledge production. The pre-biennial research phase involved collaboration with local communities, artists and research collectives to understand and address the socio-ecological complexities of the region. In Barcelona, Manifesta has chosen to focus on three geographic areas, exhibiting site-specific works across key clusters: the Llobregat Delta, the Collserola Mountain Range and the Besòs River.

The Llobregat Delta, with its focus on Balancing Conflicts, addresses the tension between urban expansion and the preservation of fragile wetland ecosystems and questions the need to expand transportation infrastructure. One of the main venues within this cluster is Casa Gomis, also known as La Ricarda, a modernist family house designed by renowned architect Antoni Bonet i Castellana between 1949-63. Located in a protected natural environment close to the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Casa Gomis engages with the ongoing dialogue concerning industrial expansion and environmental protection. Within Casa Gomis, two compelling projects, the Embassy of the North Sea and the Parliament of Trees, exemplify Manifesta's commitment to more-than-human perspectives.

We were not promoting Manifesta abroad, we were not doing advertisement campaigns aiming at reducing the number of people arriving by plane. Also, we said to some artists that it's not necessary to fly over. There are five million people living in this residential area and another seven million—in the larger interregion—this is the audience of Manifesta. – Hedwig Fijen, director, Manifesta

Embassy of the North Sea is a collective-led project, consisting of artists, lawyers, ecologists and scientists. Founded on the principle that the sea belongs to itself, the Embassy explored the impact of pollution, desalination and the presence of introduced species in the wetlands and rivers of Barcelona. The Not Illegal Fishing Competition, an event organised by the Embassy, invited participants to confront the legal and ethical dilemmas surrounding invasive species in the region.

The Parliament of Trees examines the rights of more-than-human entities, such as trees, within urban ecosystems. Using locally sourced logs and shelves to create an installation that embodies the voices of trees and their ecosystems, it brought together scientists, lawyers, scholars and artists to jointly investigate how trees, forests and their ecosystems can be given an equal voice in society and hold those who threaten them to account.

Meanwhile, in the Collserola Mountains, the theme Cure and Care underlines the importance of art in healing and of nurturing our relationships with nature, as well as the importance of caring for ourselves, each other and the planet. One of the venues within this cluster, the Monastery of Sant Cugat, founded in the ninth century, became a sanctuary for reflection and healing. Here Italian artist Bea Bonafini presents a site-specific installation that transformed the inner courtyard into a space of communal healing. Drawing on her research of ancient Neolithic sites, Bonafini’s work features four voluptuous, fragmented female clay sculptures arranged in a ‘spooning’ position, suggesting a ritual of comfort and emotional relief.

The Besòs River, under the theme Imagining Futures, explores how transdisciplinary practices can enhance sustainability and liveability. The iconic Three Chimneys site became a focal point for this exploration. American artist Asad Raza uses this industrial site to create an installation, titled Prehension, that manifests the very essence of the wind. By removing the window panes of the chimneys, Raza invites the Mediterranean breeze to enter the space, choreographing long, flowing drapes that respond to the air's rhythm. This interaction creates a sensory experience where visitors can witness the installation's fluid and dynamic movement.

The biennial is also taking action within its operations, from implementing a green code to reducing its environmental impact. “We live mostly in apartments which are not part of the gentrification idea. We almost don’t use paper. Our toilets are green. We have no water system except for the water purification. We had bicycles for everybody. We focus on public transport. We worked on putting solar panels on the roof of the Three Chimneys [built in the 1970s, it was previously used as a thermal power station located on the left bank of the Besòs River in Barcelona. It is one of the main venues for Manifesta 15]…but bureaucracy killed it,” Fijen says, underscoring the real-world challenges of sustainable practices. “We were not promoting Manifesta abroad, we were not doing advertisement campaigns aiming at reducing the number of people arriving by plane. Also, we said to some artists that it's not necessary to fly over. There are five million people living in this residential area and another seven million—in the larger interregion—this is the audience of Manifesta.” Manifesta 15 is exploring collaboration with other biennials to reduce the overproduction of artworks and resources. Fijen explains, “We said: let's work with the 10 other biennales because there's overproduction and it doesn't make sense that each biennial is producing so many new works. It has not always gone exactly as we wanted it, but the discussion amongst biennales has started. We’re asking, is there a possibility for [the] Liverpool, Berlin, Helsinki, Lyon, São Paulo, Sydney and Thailand Biennales to work together?”