Vamos a la playa

Holidays Under Franco

Postkarte, abgeschickt in Blanes 1965, Detail

To mark the 50th anniversary of Francisco Franco’s death, the MEK will show seven artistic approaches to dealing with the role of mass tourism in Spain during the dictatorship. Franco emerged victorious from the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). Tourism was intended to provide people living along Spain’s coasts with a new economic foundation. It also served as a propaganda tool to promote a stereotypical image of Spain throughout Europe. Tourists acted as ambassadors by recounting their positive holiday experiences back home in their native countries, thus distracting people there from the oppression prevailing in Spain. But were there even opportunities for travellers to Spain to recognise the dictatorship for what it was? Eight artists (Jörg Zimmer, Ulrike Weiss, Stefanie Unruh, Annette Riemann, Tom Theunissen, Christoph Otto, Denys Blacker and Monika Anselment) reflect on their memories of family holidays in Spain. The exhibition is part of the MEK’s 21st European Culture Days, focusing on the Spanish region of Catalonia.

A special exhibition of Bòlit – Centre d’Art Contemporani, Girona, and the Museu de l’Empordà, Figueres, in collaboration with the Museum Europäischer Kulturen (MEK) – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Runtime: Sun, 15/06/2025 to Sun, 28/09/2025

Takes place here:

• Museum Europäischer Kulturen