Little gallery, big idea

There are two things that have kept drawing me back to La Petita Galeria; firstly the delicious house red at 3 euros per generous glass, secondly the unusual idea behind this cosy watering hole.

Merging an art gallery with a bar and a mouth-watering menu, La Petita Galeria delivers an appealingly inclusive approach to art that is hard to find elsewhere. Whether you love art, hate art or just think it’s a load of bollocks, this bar makes art accessible in a way which will make you think twice about any preconceived ideas on the subject.

It can be tempting to find some art galleries pretentious, especially those that purely seem to capitalise on the latest collection of commercialized hype. Fair enough when you see artists charging millions for a shark in formaldehyde. A quick watch of Banksy’s brilliant film Exit Through The Gift Shop will consolidate any sceptic’s view of the art world. But the unique trait of this gallery is that it offers its two exhibition spaces to artists completely commission and rent free. Almost unheard of in today’s crisis-riddled and profit-driven world, you might be wondering what the owner is thinking of. La Petita Galeria’s open-door policy allows anyone to walk in off the street and hang their picture on the downstairs gallery’s wall for a completely commission free sale. Far from being a naive philanthropist, Scottish owner Pete has got his head firmly in the business side of things.

“I felt that the previous bars here had failed for a specific reason, so I was trying to do something different. I was actually going to say no to the opportunity, when I realised on the way to the bar that nearby there was the MACBA, and art studios, art studios, art studios…so I thought maybe this had some legs.”

“Looking around at all the other galleries, it was no option charging commission or rent. Opening up completely new, without knowing anything about art myself, I couldn’t possibly charge people. Then I needed a lot of help painting the bar, so I contacted an art school and they helped me paint it. As a present for them, I said ‘You guys can have an exhibition here for free’, and just watching their reaction from that - they were so happy! I really got a buzz from that, and for that period they were my locals, they were my business. After that moment, I was never going to charge.”

Pete wants his bar to give a platform to talented young artists whose finances often prohibit them from participating in conventional exhibition spaces.

“I want it to be about giving people a chance, about opportunity. It started off as a business decision, but now it’s about art. I want people to buy art here. If we charge rent, we’d really be shooting ourselves in the foot, because we’d only get artists who have money. I’d like to keep working with local artists, giving them a chance, and working with schools and students who don’t have money. We don’t want to go highbrow, no thousand euro price tags. I can’t personally relate to that, that’s not accessible.”

The upshot of this savvy strategy is that La Petita Galeria gives real support to Barcelona’s artistic community. Not charging emerging artists to sell their work from the bar’s walls gives creative people a chance to cut a small slice of the all too unattainable art-world pie. Instead of exploiting impoverished students who often struggle to exhibit their work, La Petita Galeria welcomes new talent with open arms and serves it up with a cocktail and tapa on the side.

The latest exhibition to grace the bar’s mezzanine gallery is of graffiti artist Joachim, whose distinctive style adorns the main wall of the bar in a permanent mural. The beauty of this bar is that you can participate in its creative spirit at whatever level you want – by browsing the gallery, exhibiting there yourself, simply revelling in its artistic atmosphere with a drink, or having a sketch at Wednesday’s weekly drawing night, esketch Wednesdays. The fruits of the last few months’ sketch fests will be showcased in the bar’s next exhibition. Grouping together over 150 of the clientele’s doodles, this inauguration of the ever-expanding sketch collective will set the bar for future shows, which anyone can become a part of.

If your belly needs fuelling before you can unleash your creativity, this bar has also got the gastronomic know-how to give your taste buds a real treat. Connie, the Bristol-born woman behind the foody side of the business, La Petita Cocina, has designed a clever menu that manages to please the most discerning of palettes and the most limited of budgets. Serving an extremely delicious range of internationally-inspired tapas, La Petita Cocina’s menu is refreshingly different to what is on offer in most of Barcelona’s bars. Sample ‘talo con chistorra’, a Panamanian flatbread with richly flavoured chorizo for €3.50, or ‘patatas arrugadas’, a wonderfully moreish combination of salty potatoes with a secret tomatoey sauce that leaves it’s common Bravas cousin a poor loser.

The best way to try the delights of La Petita Cocina is with one of the combination platters, which at 8-9 euros for a small or 12-13 for a large is a great way to satisfy several hungry mouths over a glass or two of wine. The mezze platter gives a taste of the Middle East with garlicy hummus, succulent olives, tender meat wrapped in crunchy filo pastry parcels with a sweet chilli dipping sauce and a fresh, herby Arabic salad. The tapas platter offers a slightly saltier selection: creamy slices of stilton, goat’s cheese and manchego with chutney, homemade chicken and mushroom paté, pan con tomate, Spanish tortilla and that delicious spicy chistorra sausage. Everything on the menu is sourced by Connie from the local San Antoni market and homemade with a lot of love in her kitchen – from the exquisite melt-in-your-mouth paté to the sweet fruit chutney that accompanies the cheeses. The fact that the bar has no fryer has led Connie to think of new ideas and combinations, which end up being far healthier and tastier than the typical array of deep-fried miscellanea.

From the food, to the art, to the drinks - everything done in this bar is done with a lot of thought, which is why you won’t leave disappointed. Ask for a rum and coke and you get a spectacular concoction of three different rums with a splash of the sweet stuff. Go in with a cold and you get a restoring hot toddy, made with honey, lemon, and whisky. Go in alone, and you can be sure to find some friendly conversation and a place to pause, peruse and purge your inner artist.

There’s only one tiny drawback to this place – it’s kind of hidden. Whether it’s because I have no sense of direction whatsoever, or because I’m always slightly inebriated when I leave, I normally have trouble finding the place. Important note to self and reader – from La Rambla head to the MACBA, go to the top left corner of the square and up c/Ferlandina, take your second right where the persianas are painted with stars, into c/Lléo. A haven of visual and gastronomic treats awaits you at number 9....

La Petita Galeria, c/Lléo 9
Opening hours mon-sat 6pm-2am.

Photos by Luke Tarrant and Giulia Bianchini

Art - Artists