Individual residencies / Olot
SANDRA BALAGUÉ
From Tuesday, 5 February 2019 to Tuesday, 12 February 2019
Bio
Graduated in Journalism (UAB, 2005), she later studied Theory of Literature and Compared Literature (UB). In the nearly 14 years that have passed since obtaining her degree in Journalism, she has exercised communication in many ways: from old-school journalism, corporate communication, and even specializing cultural management and communication. In old-school journalism, she has worked at COM Ràdio, she’s been chief editor at the magazine Escola Catalana and she has created, presented and managed the interview programme Donasses for Vilaweb TV. Concerning corporate communication, she has been responsible for communication of organisms like the European Observatory on Children’s TV. And, concerning specializing cultural management and communication, she has worked for different projects: assistant of Commissioner of triple literary year “Sales, Calders and Tísner”, Dra. Laura Borràs, technical at Institució de les Lletres Catalanes or collaborator at digital magazine Núvol.
Project
Fourteen secret diaries, a range of books and scattered papers, various novel attempts and a desire: to give written form to my way of seeing the world. Mercè Rodoreda said that a novel is made with a lot of imponderables and also with agonies and resurrections of the soul. The imponderables are not yet clear to me, but in the last five or six years, my soul has died and it has risen several times. Start subliming all this, fiction it: this is the purpose of my stay at Faber Residency.
Quality time
I’m home again, in Barcelona, but my eyes are full of scenery. It’s part of what Faber left me. And I think it will take me days to leave. What was Faber? Its director, Francesc Serés, expressed it very well. It was Friday, having dinner with the other two residents with whom I have coincided, Fátima Llambrich and Marta Buchaca (the first days I also coincided with Esmeralda Berbel). “This is quality time”, he said as if nothing had happened. And since then Marta, Fàtima and I repeated it as a mantra. Because you can’t tell the truth: Faber is exactly that, quality time. Time to think, to create, to speak. Time. Time for the good, productive time despite the fact that sometimes you get frustrated because it seems to you that what you do is worthless.
I especially want to thank Faber for the human contact. The contact with Francesc, Gavina and Pau, the three attentive, diligent, bonhomiosos. And the contact, also, with the other residents, all flag women. First, the Esmeralda Berbel, with whom I shared the first days of residence. Then, Fàtima Llambrich and Marta Buchaca. Great and talented companions, the three of them, with whom I have had meals, walks and, above all, priceless conversations about creation, art and life in general.
I’m home now, but I know Faber isn’t over. Can there be an end to something that does so much good to the soul and that reactivates body and mind and stings to create? I don’t think so. Faber has been a stop for me, a necessary backwater. The consequences cannot be predicted. To know what I will do, from so much conversation, so much walk and so much scribbled leaf.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Long live Faber!