Art and gentrification

The social transformation that Mallorca has undergone in recent years, marked by mass tourism and foreign home purchases, has also reached the art world. Palma, which for decades was a hub of creativity, is seeing its art world blurring amidst strong economic and social pressure.

This week, a new edition of the Noche del Arte (Art Night) arrives in Ciutat de Mallorca, an event conceived as a platform to raise awareness, above all, of the local art scene and which now reflects the changing of the cycle. Of the hundred or so artists who will be exhibiting in the galleries, very few—you can count them on one hand—live and work on the island. The rest come from outside, many from abroad, selected to meet a different type of demand: that of collectors and buyers, who are also mostly foreign.

Furthermore, alongside the increase in foreign galleries settling in Palma, others have proliferated that can hardly be considered galleries, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, they are spaces that sell art or pieces to decorate the second or third homes of new foreign owners. It's a powerful market, certainly, but it has little to do with the historical mission of galleries as spaces to support creation, mediate, and collaborate with artists.

The problem isn't that artists from abroad are arriving—they're welcome—but that it's becoming increasingly difficult for local creators to find a space to grow, to showcase their work, and to establish themselves. Their own talent is relegated to an almost symbolic role. And this has consequences: Mallorca risks ceasing to be a place of artistic production and becoming merely a showcase for works that, like their creators, pass fleetingly through the exhibition calendar.

Many of the galleries here have also been losing ground to some extent. Far from reinforcing their identity and distinction, many have opted to take on a certain resemblance to foreign ones. Foreign artists predominate, and, apart from the Noche del Arte (Art Night), the names of events and exhibitions are often only in English. It may seem like a minor detail, but it's a symptom of a local art world that is weakening, absorbing foreign forms instead of claiming its own.

Cultural gentrification doesn't physically expel local creators, as it does the residents of many neighborhoods. But it does displace them in another way: it makes them largely invisible, leaving them without any margin and few opportunities in their own territory.

The Noche del Arte (Art Night) today is a mirror of this drift. Palma continues to fill with visitors, collectors, and cultural offerings, but it's increasingly difficult for it to recognize itself in the art on display. If Mallorca wants to remain a vibrant and creative territory, it will have to look beyond the immediate market and invest more heavily in its artists. This magnificent showcase will not be devoid of a voice of its own.