Building´s anniversary to be celebrated in July

By Lois Jones WHILE the Grand Hotel in Palma's Plaza Weyler, commemorates its 100th anniversary this year, the Fundació La Caixa celebrates ten years of innovative work based in this modernist monumental landmark. Linking up these key dates, a programme of events has been planned that will interface the history of the Grand Hotel with the activities developed at the cultural centre, modernism being the artistic link. This coming 28 July is the day selected for the inauguration of an exhibition that will unveil three different concepts. On the one hand, Un espai viu (A Living Space) provides a run through the history of the building from its beginnings until its reformation. One of the lesser known aspects of the history of the building, is that during World War II, the crew of an RAF Wellington bomber were interned there. The aircraft had crashed into the sea off the island of Cabrera and the crew were rescued. As a result of Spain's neutrality the crew were kept “prisoners” in the hotel for the duration of the war. One of the airmen died while a “guest” in the hotel and he is buried in Palma cemetery. Another aspect of the programme, “A history of 10 years” invites the visitor for a walk along ten years of activities pioneered by the Fundació La Caixa using the Grand Hotel as its base. During these ten years, the centre has attracted more than two million visitors and has held 68 exhibitions as well as 70 series of lectures and concerts. Many of the exhibitions, concerts and lectures are itinerant and have been seen in other parts of the Balearics. The Foundation also organises educational activities for schools and town and village councils. The last part of the July 28 programme, “The Stations of Modernism”, offers a journey around Europe and the most important manifestations of this artistic genre.