Palma's Nit de l'Art 2025: Narrow Alleys, Hubbub of Voices, and Art for All

When the city becomes a gallery

It was one of those summer evenings that refuse to end: warm, dry, and the air still filled with noonday heat. Nit de l'Art has transformed Palma again — not into a museum, but into a very lively, slightly chaotic art space under the open sky. From about 8:15 p.m. the entrances filled, the alleys grew narrower, and anyone who thought they could simply walk through soon found themselves in the slowly rolling river of people.

Galleries, Streets and a Bit of Politics

The new Bibi + Reus City Gallery opened the evening with a show by Maite and Manuel, and yes: familiar faces from politics and culture could be seen in the crowd. Marga Prohens, Llorenç Galmés and Jaime Martínez walked a round through the spaces, before the crowd amicably took over. Such an official start naturally sticks; it accounts for only a small part of the evening – the rest belongs to the guests, the students, and those who happened to stop at a street corner and lingered.

I counted people at the Carrer de Sant Feliu who explained photos with a glass in their hand and those who seriously debated in front of a canvas. At Kewenig, Gerhardt Braun and Xavier Fiol there was hardly a centimeter of space; a gallery owner next to me grinned dryly and said the phrase that he has not seen it this full in years.

More than just pictures

There were concerts in La Misericòrdia, a colorful mix of installations in front of Aljub and long queues at Casal Solleric. Students from the ADEMA art school showed works that were so fresh you could still see brush strokes. At Es Baluard groups gathered to talk about Miró; at La Lonja older visitors discussed past and present. All of this felt like a collective exhale — more festival than opening.

Hotels joined in too: Sant Francesc, for example, offered a small tour with a subsequent discussion. In some places there was the scent of fried street food, in others the smell of fresh printer ink from catalogues. Such details make the evening very local, very Palma.

Why it works

Gallery owners president Fran Reus summed it up succinctly later: the supporters are there, the partners, but above all the audience. And the audience was really there — locals, residents and visitors, often mixed in a small, loud crowd. It is this mix that makes Nit de l'Art what it is: not an exclusive event, but a shared celebration.

Of course there are criticisms — crowding means not everyone can see everything, and there are spots that benefit from the rush and others that are almost empty. But at the end of the evening there remained a feeling: Palma has shown again that art is part of urban life. And that, hand on heart, is beautiful to see.