Women‘s Work is Never Done – Barcelona Manifesta 15v

Choosing from her vast oeuvre, often focusing on female labour and representation celebrating unsung heroines from diverse cultures and socioeconomic histories, here I ask her about the Barcelona Manifesta 15 in 2024.  Over the course of two years Schnitger created a multi-facetted city spanning decentralized installation which transformed the local skyline temporarily, but the lives of everyone involved, permanently.

“I was invited to participate in the pre-biannial research process, which made all the difference. I got to know the area and make an indepth proposal together with my friend Erika Sprey, a Dutch-Mexican ecofeminist researcher, organizer, curator, constellator and collective dream weaver, who is also fluent in Spanish. Tourists generally only know a small part of Barcelona, and the Manifesta 15 wanted to bring attention to the larger metropolitan region. Visiting the outskirts I was intrigued by the hundreds of giant early industrial smokestacks I encountered – now decontextualized, looking out of place and time. These remnants from what was once a vibrant and extremely influential textile industry – in 1830 Barcelona was the second largest textile production centre in the world – were saved by the locals as reminders of a previous age, honouring the past, the work and the workers that built the wealth of Catalonia.

My final installation comprised of 10 of such chimneys in 9 different regions, dressed up and carrying messages in various languages, symbols and expressions. Thus we brought the past with all its colonial and capitalist exploitation connotations to the present time and were able to convert these ginormous fallic symbols of a historically patriarchal system into billboards for female power and expression.

In collaboration with the women’s sewing association Xarxa de Dones Cosidores, 10 local sewing groups were created with about 8 women from all backgrounds, countries and cultures each. These were mostly immigrants who being new to Spain, due to current labour laws had difficulty supporting themselves. Supported by the manifesta 15 there was childcare, kitchens and flexible hours all geared to support women of all ages and family situations. More than just workshops teaching women new skills, seminars on civil- and women’s rights, social and political issues were organised at the same time. This went totally under the radar of the husbands or families – as on the surface, the women only came to sew –when in fact vital informations were exchanged, languages and cultural differences discovered and discussed, providing the grounds for fundamental transformation in the women’s lives.”

“Women’s groups and their information exchanges – often degraded as ‘gossip’ by men – have been the backbone of societies and can provide life saving support to individuals. The installation consists of narrative banners that finally give a loud voice to the women of Barcelona, who have been kept quiet,” explains Lara.

The ‘crown’ of the chimneys featuring a skirt blowing in the wind, banners dressing the stack range from ‘no to racism’ to, in the case of the twin chimneys, ‘women are stronger together.’ Importantly, through the workshops and discussions, the seamstresses themselves decided which phrases to proclaim – and in which language. Thus the installation builds upon the personal and collective stories of local women and their communities.

The deepfelt emotional engagement is heartwarmingly documented in the fact that as part of the recycled materials used in the patchwork, bleaching, spinning, steaming, dyeing processes, many women also brought their own clothes and sewing them into the artwork, sent a piece of their own up to the skies over Barcelona.

In Lara Schnitger’s words “dressed in their ‘skirts’, the smokestacks appear as loud and proud queens, symbolising resilience, sxsterhood (all-inclusive) and strength while imagining an ecofeminist future.” 

Uscha Pohl

Lara Schnitger is showing a special presentation at the art fair with Lundgren Gallery, Palma Mallorca

Current and upcoming exhibitions include Analog 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, USA; Wish me Well, giant public art piece on NDSM werf, Amsterdam, The Netherlands opening May 14 2026; Lara Schnitger, solo exhibition, Annet Gelink Amsterdam, NL 2026; Kunstparade Binnenhof, The Hague, Netherlands spring 2027