Another White Night

Culture cannot be an excuse to generate mass events that do not leave a real mark on society. / L. O.

A few days ago, a new edition of the White Night in Málaga was presented, an event that for years has filled the city streets with cultural and leisure activities. Also with quite intense people, clingy individuals, and families eager to do free things in general and particularly. It is somewhat like a macro festival of end-of-course activities of a school, but performed by adults. As every year, the proposal aims to bring culture closer to the citizens with a diverse program that ranges from exhibitions and museum visits to street performances.

However, over the years, I have a doubt that I find reasonable: does it still maintain its cultural goal or has it turned into a mere mass spectacle?

It is not the first time that when analyzing the White Night's program I find a significant number of activities that, while they may be eye-catching and attractive to the general public, contribute little or nothing from a cultural enrichment perspective. Many of them, far from being a real approach to art or thought, focus on pure entertainment, on creating an ephemeral experience that responds more to the logic of tourism and leisure than to the purpose of elevating culture to the citizens.

It is true that a city like Málaga, with a strong commitment to culture and tourism, needs to find balances. It is not about underestimating the idea that people enjoy the streets, that there are light and friendly proposals, that the public has fun. Always joy, of course. However, culture cannot be an excuse to generate mass events that do not leave a real mark on society.

Culture is more than just a set of eye-catching activities to bulk up a program. There must be a sense, a purpose, a value in what is offered.

Another aspect that continues to catch my attention is the fascination that the public has for free access to museums and cultural spaces during that night. It is curious to see the huge queues that form to enter places that, in many cases, can be visited the rest of the year for an almost symbolic price or even for free during certain hours. It seems as if only during the White Night is culture relevant, as if on other days museums and exhibitions do not exist. And also, spaces dedicated to admiring art -to give an example- become a crowded McDonald’s, with a lot of noise and significant commotion. This paradox exposes an ugly reality: many people do not value culture in their daily lives. Instead of being part of their routine, their usual leisure, it becomes an occasional product, a special event that is attended almost out of the obligation of the moment. There is nothing wrong with that, but it would be good to ask ourselves if these types of events really promote a love for culture or simply take advantage of the opportunity to offer a product of popular consumption.

It is undeniable that the White Night is a successful event in terms of participation and citizen mobilization. The city fills up -although when does it not-, people go out to the streets, there is talk of supposed culture everywhere. But, does this have a real impact on the cultural fabric of the city? Does it translate into greater attendance at theaters, concerts, conferences, or galleries throughout the rest of the year? Or does it remain an anecdote, a night when we convince ourselves that we participate in cultural life when in reality what we are doing is joining a party with a veneer of culture?

Málaga does not need a culture of just one day, but one that permeates its society, that is part of the life of its citizens constantly. Culture is a right and a privilege, but above all, it is a responsibility of everyone. If we only consume it when it is free and part of a mass event, are we really fostering culture or just enjoying a night of entertainment with a cultural excuse?

The White Night is a great opportunity to bring art and thought to those who usually are not attracted to it. But it is also a mirror that shows us our own contradictions as a society. If we want culture to play a relevant role in Málaga, it is not enough to organize a big annual party to be cultural by force. We must work day by day, in education, in the promotion of critical thinking, in the valorization of our cultural institutions, and in the creation of a citizenry that relates to culture beyond a night of queues and street performances.

Because culture is much more than a mass event: it is the soul of a society that is built with each visit to a museum, with each book read, with each play enjoyed, with each enriching conversation. And that, unfortunately, cannot be condensed into a single night no matter how much we call it ‘White Night’.

Perhaps the greatest irony of all this matter is that, while the White Night is promoted as a way to bring culture closer to the citizens, true culture seems to want to flee in terror before the avalanche of flashes, selfies, and hordes of people looking for more of a spectacle than a reflective experience. It is not strange to imagine Velázquez or Picasso rising from their canvases and exiting through the back door of the museum, terrified by the uproar of the crowd that, for one night, has decided it is "art lovers."

Because, let's face it, when culture becomes an excuse for massification, when the depth of a work is reduced to a check on the list of things to do that night, when a museum becomes the perfect backdrop for a photo that accumulates likes on social networks, then perhaps true culture is not being celebrated. It is being used, disguised, and, in the worst case, betrayed.

But I'm not going to pretend I'm something I'm not or that people don't care. So go ahead with the subject. Who wouldn't like to visit a museum after an hour in line and a hundred people around and a child eating a packet of Risketos next to you?

Long live Málaga.