Luis Bagaria (Spain, 1882, Cuba, 1940). Drawing published in Ilustraçao on January 1, 1930.
This offering, curated by Ignacio Echevarría for Stimulants: Traffic and Euphoria, is a two-fold choral reflection on coffee: on the one hand, as a substance that often serves as an escape at work time and, on the other, «the café», as the embryonic environment of the so-called 'public sphere', a meeting place in the 18th century for a contentious bourgeoisie, who hatched their programme of emancipation and democratisation in cafés and which signalled the directions in which ideologies and literary and artistic currents of modernity had to evolve.
Programme
21 APRIL (Thursday)
Adan Kovacsics and Gonzalo Torné. Moderator: Ignacio Echevarría.
Having a coffee is, in itself, only a ritual involving one of linear and productive time, hence the consumption of coffee, both at home and in public, has given rise to new forms of sociability, but also loneliness. This first session will reflect on coffee "time", on the café as the "interior" of the city, on the writing and poetics of the café, on the relationship between coffee and literature.
22 APRIL (Friday)
Harkaitz Cano, Cecilia Dreymuller and Nora Catelli. Moderator: Ignacio Echevarría.
In 18th-century England, cafés articulated the conscience of the emerging bourgeoisie and constituted the germ of what is meant by "public sphere". Since then, the café, with its multiple mutations and different forms, depending on the country, has been the key stage for many decisive episodes of the modern age. This round table will reflect on the cultural, political and sociological scope of the café and its different "versions" in Europe. Also on the subversive dimension of the café and about its relationships with the avant-garde.
Two-fold choral reflection on coffee: on the one hand, as a substance that often serves as an escape at work time and, on the other, «the café», as the embryonic environment of the so-called 'public sphere', a meeting place.