The Art of walking, a joint proposal of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the Castle of Montjuïc and the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) with the collaboration of the Filmoteca de Catalunya, proposes a self-guided route through Montjuïc Park to promote well-being of the participants through art and to rediscover a privileged environment of the city.

The Art of walking is a self-guided sound walk narrated by the actress Silvia Bel that will help us connect the art and collections of the MNAC in the extraordinary environment, but still in many ways unknown, of Montjuïc Park.

During this walk, which will connect the MNAC with Montjuïc Castle, we will enjoy various artistic elements that will allow us to get closer to architecture, literature, music, sculpture, landscaping or gardening. The driving force of all the activity will be the pleasure of walking, with the benefits it brings for physical and mental health, and the common thread will be photography. Thus, starting from the photography collections of the MNAC, dynamics and techniques will be proposed to use mobile phone photography as a playful and artistic resource that will help us observe the environment.

The Art of walking is a self-guided activity that can be carried out at any time independently through a Web App designed specifically for this activity. Apart from the audio narration, we will find a large amount of quality complementary materials to enjoy the tour. For example, information about the gardens or the artistic elements of the itinerary, photographs from the MNAC collections, literary and musical fragments or from the archives of the Filmoteca de Catalunya, the map of the route, etc. It highlights the inclusion of two unpublished literary texts by the writer Marta Orriols, created specifically for The Art of Walking.

The activity is conceived as a salutogenic activity, that is to say, generating health. That is why various activities and health advice will be proposed, by health professionals from the Catalan Institute of Health focused on the multifactorial importance of walking exercise, as well as indications regarding relaxation, nutrition, concentration and enjoyment, full attention, breathing and proposals for muscle stretching and postural hygiene.

The Art of Walking is a flagship project in the Health Arts Strategy of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, a pioneering initiative that aims to materialise the benefits of the arts in the health of people and communities. In this sense, the museum has established formal relations with both the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) and the Public Health Agency of Catalonia (APSPCAT) to develop different health arts projects that allow progress in the evidence that, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) itself has concluded, “the arts can play an important role in the prevention of malaria, the promotion of health and the management and treatment of malaria throughout the entire life cycle period of people”. 

The Art of Walking is a project of the National Art Museum of Catalonia Arts+Health Hub-Lab in collaboration with Montjuïc Castle, the Catalan Health Institute and the Film Library of Catalonia.

Concept and design: Guillem d’Efak Fullana-Ferré, Norma Vélez, Marina Castillón Prat

Script: Marina Castillón Prat

Texts: Marina Castillón Prat, Guillem d’Efak Fullana-Ferré, Norma Vélez

Water Lilies and The Joan Brossa Gardens: Marta Orriols

Extract from Breviario del viejo corredor, Editorial Siruela, 2023: Lluís Alabern

Health advice:
CAP Numància (ICS – Catalan Health Institute):

Yolanda Herreros Herreros (Family Doctor, CAP Numància. ICS)

Sandra Martín Miralles (Family Doctor, CAP Numància. ICS)

Sandra Escobar Pina (TCAI, CAP Numància. ICS)

Marta Cardiel Gil (Family and Community Nurse, CAP Numància. ICS)

Lidia Chaguaceda Casado (Family and Community Nurse, CAP Numància. ICS)

Marta Dacosta Pova (Dietitian-Nutritionist, CAP Numància. ICS)

Mireia García Oliván (Emotional and Community Wellbeing Reference, CAP Numància. ICS)

Voiceovers:  Daniela Monsó

Photographs: Marina Castillón Prat

Graphic design: Puig Ventura Àlvarez

Oval: Fito Conesa

* CAP = Primary Healthcare Centre, ICS = Catalan Health Institute, TCAI = Technician in Auxiliary Nursing Care

English translation: Paul Turner