Gustavo Bacarisas turns 150 this year

Gibraltar will this year mark the 150th birthday of one of the Rock’s most prolific international artists, Gustavo Bacarisas.

Gibraltar Cultural Services (GCS) will be holding events this September to mark the anniversary.

Born on the September 23, 1872, Gustavo Bacarisas was the first ever recipient of the Freedom of the City of Gibraltar in 1962 and his career spanned over 70 years, across three different continents.

During the week of his birth date, Gibraltar Cultural Services will be organising an Open Day at the Mario Finlayson National Gallery on September 20.

The open day will see the Minister for Culture, Dr John Cortes, open newly refurbished exhibition rooms, with newly exhibited works by the artist and further art from the Heritage artists also on show.

The Gallery refurbishment will see many additions and improvements including QR codes for audio and written information provided online to provide a more inclusive experience.

A special talk on Bacarisas’s life and legacy will be delivered by Gino Sanguinetti from GCS.

The talk will be exploring the artist’s life, challenges, and inspirations against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War and World War II.

The talk will be held on Tuesday, September 20 at 6.30pm at the City Hall.

Tickets for the talk are free to the public and are available online via: buytickets.gi.

To promote the artist and mark the occasion, GCS are also working on a set of stamps that are being designed by the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau, a gift shop, and a children’s book telling the story of Gustavo Bacarisas and highlighting some of the key moments in the artists’ life.
The latter was proposed and executed by artist Shane Dalmedo.