Bloop Festival 2016 Event Review

It’s not often that one thinks of culture in relation to San Antonio but for a month this summer the boozy, bar crawl of a town in south west Ibiza is getting a chance to show people that it’s about more than just binge drinking and boat parties as it plays host to the annual Bloop festival.

The world's first international proactive art festival pops up in Ibiza once a year to showcase its own brand of art for the masses. It does so through an array of events and exhibits including murals, street art, photography, video, sculpture, music, street food, workshops, open air galleries and parties located largely in San Antonio but also around the bay, Cala Tarida, Ibiza Town and Playa D’en Bossa. Different events are scheduled throughout the month-long festival and most run for a while or are repeated so everyone should be able to find a time and a location that suits them to visit and participate in this artistic festival.

All of the events are tied together by the ethos of the festival, which is that ‘Art is for Everyone’, with inclusion and participation of as many people as possible being the goal. There is a specific theme set each year, a theme which tackles a relevant social issue and is then interpreted by the artists. Once the pieces produced and shown to the masses it is hoped that it will encourage reflection and discussion of the issue. Previous themes have included Appearance, Control and Arrogance. For 2016 it is No Fear, a theme which encompasses issues such as our dependence upon social media to the detriment of our real lives and our fear of other nations, cultures, races and religions.

Bloop asks that the audience think about the theme and the questions it raises. But that’s not all they ask of you, Bloop is a ‘proactive’ arts festival and “to complete proactive art the participation of the spectator is essential as triggering a reaction is its finishing element”. Many different mediums are involved in the festival to encourage this reaction and get as many people as possible involved in the creative process. There are workshops and exhibits specifically aimed at getting children involved in practicing and thinking about art.

The most dramatic part of this festival and the part with long lasting impact is the street art around San Antonio. If you’ve spent any time in the town you’ve probably noticed the large murals on the sides of some of the buildings around the town but due to their individuality you've probably never connected them all as being part of something. In fact, those murals are a remaining catalogue of the previous years of the Bloop Festival dating back to 2011. Each year new murals are created on different walls around the town and stand alongside the old ones, each portraying their specific year’s theme and each adding to the artistic nature of this other wise rather culturally bankrupt town.

San Antonio is not alone in enjoying these works of street art, however, they also appear in Eivissa, Playa d'en Bossa and Cala de Bou. You can pick up a map of all the mural locations and it also tells you the name, year and theme of each piece and you can spend a happy few hours hunting them down. (Be sure to note no 19 which has caused controversy this year by depicting a child's hand giving the finger to the hand of God.) Rather out of keeping with the ‘No Fear’ theme, the powers that be in San Antonio are threatening to have it removed or covered up before too many children see it, so visit it whilst you can.

Pick up a map from Bloop HQ which is located in the Old Lighthouse building at the start of the Sunset strip in San Antonio. A beautiful building reminiscent of a different time, this space is often used for exhibits and for a month it is being dubbed the ‘soul of the festival’ and is used as an exhibitions space, gathering point, information station, interactive zone and refreshment hall. Take a walk up to the lighthouse and view the displays there and make sure to talk to the friendly organisers who will be happy to talk to you about the origins and ethos of this festival. You can also pick up a map and timetable of all the events occurring over month-long festival period.

Take a break from bars and beaches to explore the more cultural side of San Antonio with Bloop Festival running 16th July – 16th August 2016.