Barcelona Arts Summer School

Andoni Luis Aduriz (San Sebastián, 1971) has led Mugaritz since 1998—a project he describes as a creative ecosystem where cuisine serves merely as a pretext for deep interdisciplinary experimentation. His groundbreaking approach has earned Mugaritz two Michelin stars and a place among the world’s top ten restaurants for 14 consecutive years, according to the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. In 2023, Aduriz received the Icon Award from the same organization, recognizing his profound contribution and influence on global gastronomy. That same year, Forbes named him one of the 100 most creative people in the world.



A passionate advocate for the stories behind flavor, for exploration as a guiding principle, and for the vast potential of gastronomy when it steps beyond its conventional boundaries, Aduriz is also an active educator and communicator. He shares knowledge that bridges food with neuroscience, health, nutrition, and culture, and has authored over a dozen books—many in collaboration with scientists and thinkers. His unique vision and critical voice are also expressed through his weekly opinion column in El País Semanal, which he has written since 2013.



Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards, including the National Gastronomy Award, the Chef’s Choice Award by S. Pellegrino, the Eckart Witzigmann Award, the Healthy Gastronomy Award from the Royal Academy of Gastronomy, and the National Hospitality Award for Best Chef-Entrepreneur from Hostelería España. He was recently appointed Goodwill Ambassador of Japanese Cuisine by Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and won the Best Chef Science Award at the Best Chef Awards. In 2024, he received the Creativity Award from Fuera de Serie Gourmet and was named “Man of the Year” in the Gastronomy category by Esquire magazine. Read more +

Juan Antonio Bayona is a visionary filmmaker known for his emotive storytelling, striking visual style, and mastery of genre-blending narratives. With a career spanning international blockbusters and critically acclaimed dramas, Bayona has established himself as one of the most influential directors of his generation.



His directorial debut, The Orphanage (2007), captivated audiences and critics alike, earning multiple Goya Awards and cementing his place in Spanish cinema. He continued his ascent with The Impossible (2012), a powerful survival drama starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, which became a global box office success and garnered an Academy Award nomination for Watts.



Bayona’s passion for grand-scale storytelling led him to Hollywood, where he directed A Monster Calls (2016), a visually stunning and deeply moving fantasy drama, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), which grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide. Most recently, he directed the highly anticipated Netflix film Society of the Snow (2023), further showcasing his ability to craft emotionally resonant, high-impact narratives.



As a mentor at BASS, Bayona brings his expertise in film direction, visual storytelling, and working with actors to inspire the next generation of artists. Participants will gain firsthand insight into his creative process, cinematic techniques, and approach to crafting emotionally powerful narratives. Read more +

Roger Bernat / FFF works on cooperative theatrical projects that involve the body of the spectators. Although most of these projects have been realized in theatrical contexts, in the last decade they have been produced by institutions such as Documenta Kassel or the Sao Paulo Biennial.



Some of his works are Domini Públic (Teatre Lliure, Barcelona, 2008), La consagración de la primavera (Teatro Milagro, Mexico, 2010), Please, Continue: Hamlet (with Yan Duyvendak. Théâtre du Grütli, Geneva, 2011), Pendiente de voto (Centro Dramático Nacional, Madrid, 2012), Desplazamiento del Palacio de La Moneda (STML, Santiago de Chile, 2014), Numax-Fagor-plus (KunstenFestivalDesArts, Brussels, 2014), We need to talk (Temporada Alta, Girona, 2015), No se registran conversaciones de interés (MUCEM, Marseille, 2016-17), The place of the Thing (Documenta 14, Athens-Kassel, 2017), Flam (Festival Grec 2019), ENA (Teatre Lliure, 2020), Desnonissea (CASM, 2021), PIM PAM (34 Bienal de Sao Paulo, 2021), Terra Baixa (Teatre Lliure, 2022), Dormifestació (Fira Tàrrega, 2022) or La Scelta (Kilowatt Festival, Sansepolcro, 2023). Read more +

Sol Picó is a choreographer and dancer born in Alcoi (Alicante), and the founder of the eponymous company she established in 1994. Her stage language is rooted in the hybridization of genres, blending contemporary dance, physical theatre, flamenco, and popular culture with refined technique, physical strength, and sharp humor.



Her creations are marked by a distinctive, irreverent, and dynamic style that blurs the boundaries between opposites: pointe shoes and flamenco, battle gear and femininity, large-scale scenography and organic movement. On stage, nothing is as it seems—the everyday is transformed into the extraordinary, offering the audience an experience that goes beyond mere representation.



Music, often performed live, plays a key role in reinforcing the fusion of styles and emotional registers. Her works construct a personal iconography where myth and memory—both individual and collective—intertwine.



With a career spanning more than 30 productions, Sol Picó has built a unique universe that has firmly positioned her as a vital figure in the contemporary dance scene. Read more +

Edi Pou is a musician, journalist, and cultural activist. He is a member of the bands ZA! and Los Sara Fontan, and co-founder of the improvisation and training project La Orquesta del Caballo Ganador. A passionate advocate of collective and shared creation, he actively seeks encounters between music and other disciplines such as dance, poetry, theater, performance, film, and more.



He has led improvisation workshops in cities such as Barcelona, Porto, Melbourne, Berlin, Maputo, Azpeitia, Lagos, the Azores, among others. He is the author of several podcasts focused on music and the underground community (MaracaLab, Vivalanumeración, Ràdio Cultura Viva, etc.).



He received the Ciutat de Barcelona Award in 2015 (with ZA!) and again in 2022 (with 4132314). Since 2009, he has been co-director of the record label and musical collective Gandula. He is also a member of the self-managed collective Atzavara. Read more +

Christian Checa Bañuz holds a degree in Film and Audiovisual Media with a specialization in Directing from ESCAC, a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of Barcelona (UB), a Master’s in Contemporary Film and Audiovisual Studies from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), and a PhD in Social Communication, also from UPF.



As an author, he has published No Trespassing with Shangri-La publishing house, written several articles for specialized journals, and contributed to collective volumes on film studies. Since 2013, he has been teaching various subjects at ESCAC, both in the undergraduate Film program and in its Master’s degrees.



He is currently Head of the Master’s and Postgraduate Department at ESCAC and Content Coordinator at BASS. Read more +

Born in Valencia in 1973, Paco Plaza is one of Spain’s leading figures in genre cinema. He holds a degree in Information Sciences from the University of Valencia and a diploma in Film Directing from the Madrid Film School (ECAM). Early in his career, he directed several short films, notably Abuelitos, which was screened at numerous national and international festivals and received, among other awards, the Canal Plus Prize at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and the Proyecto Corto Canal Plus Award at the San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival; and Puzzles, which won the INJUVE Award for Best Experimental Short in Versión Española (TVE).



In 2002, he directed his first feature film, The Second Name, co-written with author Fernando Marías and based on a novel by Ramsey Campbell. The film won the Méliès d’Argent for Best European Feature at the Sitges Film Festival. That same year, alongside Jaume Balagueró, he co-directed the docufilm O.T. La Película. This was followed by Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt (2004) and the Tales to Keep You Awake TV episode A Christmas Tale.



Plaza achieved international acclaim with the [REC] saga, co-directed with Jaume Balagueró. The first installment (2007) and [REC]2 (2009) became unprecedented international successes. He later directed [REC]³: Genesis (2012) on his own, which was also a major hit in countries such as France, Mexico, and the UK.



His 2017 film Verónica earned seven Goya Award nominations and achieved both critical and commercial success worldwide. In 2019, Plaza released Eye for an Eye, which received three nominations from the Spanish Film Academy.



In 2022, he premiered The Grandmother, screened in the Official Selection of the San Sebastián Film Festival, winner of the Jury Prize at the Gérardmer Fantastic Film Festival, and topping the Spanish box office upon its theatrical release.



In 2023, he once again opened the Sitges Film Festival with Sister Death, a Netflix original film and prequel to Verónica.



In 2024, he returned to the San Sebastián Film Festival with his documentary MUGARITZ: NO BREAD, NO DESSERT, which won Best Film in the Culinary Cinema section.



LA SUERTE, co-created with Pablo Guerrero, is his first television series. Read more +