El Rusc de Gracia : La Colmena de Gracia : The Gracia Hive
A building designed to integrate artistic disciplines and people.

The name of the project is El Rusc de Gracia. The plan is to make an accurate and professional architectural blueprint of a rectangular shaped building that will provide spaces for a wide variety of artists and an academy for students.

Recently we have started to draw the architectural plans based upon a real building in Gracia. The building will be as ecologically friendly and self-sufficient as possible.

The website is also called El Rusc de Gracia and will house the following information.

1. Architectural drawings detailing all the different sections.
2. A virtual 3D model.
3. A physical model of the building. (Photographs)
4. Artist’s conceptual drawings based on the technical drawings.
5. Cost Breakdown Grid.
6. Analysis of self-sufficiency technologies.
7. Information about Gracia Arts Project.
8. Information about the funding plan and process and how people can contribute.
9. The philosophy of the building and its applications.

This project takes the best of Barcelona and aims to make the city a world leader in community arts. The website and blueprint can then be used as a template that can be converted to any city in Europe and adapted to different economic circumstances.

Our philosophy tackles the difficult and complex question of why people should grow up loving, respecting and supporting the arts. We are starting from grass roots.

The philosophy of a building named Rusc

As a community of artists who are currently developing a practical philosophy for the arts we feel the area of Gracia is perfect for our needs.  Gracia is a traditional Catalan area near the centre of Barcelona and is well known for its strong sense of community and artistic atmosphere. Our intention is to establish a permanent home for ourselves and incorporate the organization directly into the larger society.

The project El Rusc de Gracia will offer parents a place where they can bring their children for artistic inspiration and education. It will offer artists a place to exhibit, learn, teach and work. It is here that we will strive to impress upon society the importance of the arts for people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.

One half of this micro-community will concentrate on the cultivation and presentation of the arts. The other half will encourage young artistic talent through academies. It will be seen as a hive where young and old mix to learn from one another, to instruct, inspire and produce.

El Rusc de Gracia is where culture originates, from diversity and home-grown talent.  The opportunity for artistic exchange within this community can be seen as a window on the cultural soul of Barcelona.  It looks out towards Europe, and Europe looks back in, bringing a pan-European dimension and influence to bear.
 
The project is desirable at a regional level because it represents the needs of the people from Catalonia, Spain, Europe and the rest of the world who are resident there. As with all countries in the European Union and beyond, national identity is important but all are acutely aware that their presence in Europe, and Barcelona in particular, is at the centre of this.

  Barcelona prides itself on being one of the most cultural and diverse cities in Europe. With its many international conferences both political and commercial, with its millions of tourists each year, with its transient population of Europeans who come and go on a short term basis, Barcelona has the infrastructure and potential to set an example.

We wish to create a focus and a home for European Arts, for their practical application and integration into society. We believe that Barcelona is the perfect place to make such a home and that this project can highlight the city at its best.

El Rusc de Gracia will have an open-door policy for visitors interested in the arts. We hope that seeing first-hand how El Rusc de Gracia operates will encourage other European citizens to attempt similar projects in their home cities. Hence we are designing plans with adaptability to different regions.  This reaches out across borders and networks can be established from group to group, city to city.

This project can also be an excellent advocate for important social issues and change. What is incorporated in one city should be incorporated in them all. For example, we are currently studying the possibilities of using modern technologies for self-sustainability, such as the ones detailed in the pdf file with the architectural drawings (Reference: Jubilee Wharf).

The message in El Rusc de Gracia is about artistic and cultural integration. The Gracia Arts Project membership is growing quickly and new applications are received every week. Our policy is to select approximately 300 artists who believe in forging together, all aiming in the same direction to achieve El Rusc de Gracia. The membership will be evenly divided between Spanish and Catalan artists and artists from Europe and the rest of the world.

This project will have a positive influence on policymakers because it embodies the need for such an initiative. As Barcelona is home to many foreigners and cultures we aim to use this diversity to enhance our association and to achieve integration through El Rusc de Gracia.



Rusc is a city project.
Rusc is a community project
Rusc is a people project
Rusc is a European project

A call for support, actions speak volumes.

This is a city project, a community project, a people project. If we can gain support at ground level then it is only a question of time before El Rusc appears. First, though, we must reach Critical Mass.

The concept of Critical Mass: That there is a sufficient number of artists within the community to sustain the community. That, should any individual leave the project, there is always someone else willing to enter and take over. That the project is self-sufficient because it needs to exist, because people believe.

The project website for El Rusc will track activities as they are completed and uploaded. The website will list all objectives and output on a spreadsheet and encourage participants to add information as and when it becomes available.

Actual construction is only the first step in building El Rusc de Gracia. Future funding from the Catalan and Spanish governments and from other European foundations will be requested. We will be seeking private patronage and commercial sponsorship and organising in-house fundraising activities. We will contact similar projects within our network and research how they received funds for constructing an artistic residence.