Plaza Bonsuccés, Spain

Why Plaza Bonsuccés works as an artist base

Plaza Bonsuccés sits right in central Barcelona, just off Las Ramblas, in the El Raval / Ciutat Vella area. For artists, that means you can walk to major museums, galleries, print studios, and transit links in minutes. You’re not in a quiet retreat; you’re in the middle of an active, layered city where studio time and city time bleed into each other.

This square is especially useful if you want a residency that feels plugged into the city rather than isolated. You can spend the morning at the press, the afternoon in MACBA or CCCB, and still make it to an opening in El Born or Eixample in the evening.

• Hyper-central location: easy walk to Las Ramblas, MACBA, and multiple metro stops.
• Dense art ecosystem: print studios, galleries, and museums all within a short walk or metro ride.
• Daily-life practical: surrounded by markets, cafés, hardware shops, and services you’ll actually need while producing work.

If you anchor yourself at or near Plaza Bonsuccés, you’re essentially choosing to work from Barcelona’s historical center, with all the intensity and access that brings.

Printmaking Barcelona Residency: the key program in Plaza Bonsuccés

The main residency directly tied to Plaza Bonsuccés is the Printmaking Barcelona Residency Program, located at Plaza Bonsuccés, 5 (Entresuelo). This is a long-running printmaking studio that has evolved into a residency focused on engraving, printing, and edition-based work.

What the residency actually gives you

Printmaking Barcelona is first a professional workshop, second a residency. That’s good if you want a studio-intensive stay more than a social or theoretical program. You can expect:

• Specialized printmaking studio: more than 120 m² divided into rooms dedicated to different processes, giving you quiet zones and shared work areas.
• Professional equipment: several intaglio presses of different sizes, an exposure unit for screen printing and photopolymer plates, and the tools you need for high-quality print work.
• Print-focused support: the studio is run by experienced printmakers who are used to guiding artists technically, from plate prep to editioning.
• Flexible residency length: stays from 1 week to 3 months, which works well if you’re combining the residency with travel, teaching, or another project in Europe.
• Small cohort: around 6 artists at a time, which keeps the space usable and makes it easy to actually talk to everyone.
• Central, urban context: step outside the studio and you’re basically in the middle of Ciutat Vella, with Las Ramblas just a few meters away.
• Accessibility: elevator access, wide doors, and grab areas make it comparatively more accessible for artists with limited mobility than many older buildings in the area.

You won’t get a rural retreat here. You get a functioning urban print shop with serious infrastructure and a constant sense that the city is right outside the door.

Who this residency suits

This residency is a strong fit if you:

• Work in intaglio, relief, screen print, or photopolymer.
• Need technical support and professional presses rather than a DIY print corner.
• Like an urban atmosphere and don’t mind noise, people, and constant visual input.
• Prefer short-to-medium stays where you can complete a focused project or edition.
• Want a place that understands artists working at different levels, from emerging to very experienced.
• Need elevator access and fewer physical barriers when moving around the studio.

If you’re purely a painter or a performance artist, the studio can still be useful as a base, but its real strength is for anyone who wants to make prints, books, or editioned objects at a professional level.

How applications and timing work

Printmaking Barcelona tends to operate on a relatively flexible schedule rather than rigid cycles.

• You send them the dates you’d like and a short outline of what you want to work on.
• They evaluate if those dates and project are realistic with their calendar and facilities.
• Residency lengths can be tailored: for example, a one-week intensive to produce a single edition, or three months to develop a body of work.

Because dates are flexible, this residency can be a good anchor if you’re stitching together multiple opportunities across Europe, or if you want to time your stay around other events, teaching, or family commitments.

What the wider Barcelona residency ecosystem adds

Staying at Plaza Bonsuccés doesn’t mean you’re limited to just one program. Barcelona has a broader network of residencies and art centers that you can connect with before, during, or after your time there.

BAR Project: city-based research, Eixample apartment, Fabra i Coats studios

BAR Project runs three-month residencies focused on projects tied to Barcelona itself. Instead of a single venue, it works through partnerships:

• Apartment in Eixample: you live in a more spacious, grid-like district that’s calmer than Ciutat Vella but still central.
• Studios at Fabra i Coats: a production center that connects you with a different part of the city’s art scene.
• Material and economic support: some budget for production and living, depending on the specific arrangement.
• Project-based approach: residents are invited to develop work that responds to Barcelona’s context, not just to produce in isolation.

This is a good counterbalance to a Plaza Bonsuccés base: you can treat Printmaking Barcelona as your technical studio hub and BAR Project (if you’re selected) as a more discursive, network-focused residency within the same city.

LaCasaPark: curated, smaller-scale residency context

LaCasaPark runs 4–8 week residency sessions, generally with only one or two artists at a time. It often operates by invitation and tends to support concept-driven and site-sensitive work.

• Small cohort: up to two artists per month, which means more focused attention but fewer peers on-site.
• Mixed model: works produced can enter a private collection, so your project may end up with a long-term home.
• Self-funded life costs: transportation and living expenses remain on you, so it suits artists who already have grants or income to support their stay.

If you’re working on a project that could benefit from both intensive studio time and a quieter, more curated environment, it can pair with an earlier or later stint at Plaza Bonsuccés.

Other labs and studios you can plug into

Even if you’re centered at Plaza Bonsuccés, it’s worth mapping a few other production spaces:

• Hangar: a major center for art research and production that offers different residency formats, shared studios, and technical resources.
• Fabra i Coats: where some residency programs host studios; useful for understanding how artists work at the intersection of public institutions and independent practice.
• Other print shops and fabrication spaces: you can commission parts of projects (woodwork, metal, digital fabrication) that complement print-based work done at Printmaking Barcelona.

Using Plaza Bonsuccés as your base, you can move between these spaces via metro, bike, or even a longer walk, building your own informal “multi-residency” in the city.

Reading the neighborhood: El Raval, Born, Eixample, Gràcia, Poblenou

Part of choosing a residency is choosing the surrounding neighborhood. Plaza Bonsuccés sits on the Raval side of Ciutat Vella, but you’ll likely move across several districts while you’re there.

El Raval / Ciutat Vella: where Plaza Bonsuccés lives

El Raval is dense, mixed, and extremely central. Staying here means you can reach most central institutions on foot.

• Close to MACBA and CCCB: both are a short walk away and host exhibitions, talks, and screenings that feed directly into contemporary practice.
• Galleries and project spaces: scattered through the back streets, often smaller and more experimental.
• Intense urban life: noisy, layered, and constantly moving. Great for research on city life, less ideal if you need quiet.

If you like a bit of friction in your daily environment and want to feel the city at street level, working from Plaza Bonsuccés fits that well.

El Born / La Ribera: galleries, design, and social energy

El Born is just across from Raval, still very central but with a different texture.

• Gallery concentration: a strong mix of contemporary galleries and design studios.
• Walkable social scene: cafés, bars, and smaller venues where you can meet designers, artists, and curators.
• Good for visibility: if you’re planning a show or open studio, this side of the old city tends to draw a lot of visitors.

Even if you live and work around Plaza Bonsuccés, spending time in Born will give you a better sense of how the commercial and design side of the art scene operates.

Eixample: calm grid, residency apartments, and galleries

Eixample is where some residency apartments, including BAR Project’s, are based.

• More space, more order: wide streets, light, and bigger flats than in the old center.
• Galleries and institutions: sprinkled along major avenues and side streets, often focused on contemporary and modern work.
• Good for longer stays: easier to create routines, and often slightly less tourist-heavy than Ciutat Vella.

You might choose to live in Eixample but commute to Plaza Bonsuccés and other central studios daily, combining calm home life with an intense working center.

Gràcia: local rhythm, small studios, open studios

Gràcia has a strong neighborhood identity and a history with artists and students.

• Village feel: plazas, narrow streets, and a slower rhythm than the center.
• Studios and venues: many small studios and multipurpose spaces that occasionally open their doors to the public.
• Good for mid-term stays: if you want to feel embedded in a neighborhood rather than a tourist zone.

Staying around Plaza Bonsuccés but working or networking in Gràcia gives you two different views of the city’s art community.

Poblenou: production district, large studios, new media

Poblenou leans towards production, new media, and larger studio spaces.

• Industrial heritage: old factories converted into studios, labs, and creative offices.
• Open studios and festivals: often host district-wide events that are useful for meeting a lot of artists in one go.
• Bigger spaces: good if your work needs scale, fabrication, or heavy equipment that wouldn’t fit in a central studio.

If you’re at Printmaking Barcelona, consider scheduling days or weeks focused on Poblenou for fabrication, then returning to Plaza Bonsuccés for final printing, editioning, and meetings.

Daily logistics: cost of living, transit, and visas

Cost of living around Plaza Bonsuccés

Central Barcelona is not the cheapest base, but it can be manageable with planning.

• Housing: rooms in shared flats are the most realistic option in these districts; full apartments near Plaza Bonsuccés tend to be expensive.
• Food: if you cook using local markets and supermarkets, you can keep costs reasonable. Eating out daily adds up quickly.
• Studio and materials: the residency covers the studio infrastructure; materials for printmaking, paper, and inks are an additional cost but easier to source locally than hauling everything by plane.
• Hidden costs: laundromats, transport, small hardware or art supplies, and social life (openings, events) should all be in your budget.

When comparing residencies, pay closer attention to what they do for housing than to studio access. Many programs supply studio space but expect you to fund your own accommodation in a city where rent is the main expense.

Transit: getting to and from Plaza Bonsuccés

Barcelona’s transit system makes Plaza Bonsuccés a very workable hub.

• From the airport: you can reach central Barcelona by Aerobús, metro, train, or taxi; once you’re in the center, Plaza Bonsuccés is a short walk from several stops.
• Metro and buses: a single integrated system covers most of the city, so you can reach Eixample, Born, Gràcia, and Poblenou easily from central lines.
• Walking: many of your daily needs will be within walking distance if you’re based around the square.
• Bicycles: very useful, but the old center’s narrow streets and tourists require attention.

For an artist residency, the mix of walkability and metro access means you can visit multiple studios, galleries, and institutions in a single day without needing a car.

Visa basics for non-EU artists

If you’re coming from outside the EU/EEA/Switzerland, check visa requirements before committing to dates.

• Short stays: many nationalities can stay for a limited period under Schengen rules; check your specific allowance.
• Longer residencies: may require a Schengen or national visa, depending on your passport and the residency’s structure.
• Residency classification: programs may be categorized as work, study, or cultural activity; this affects which visa you need.

Before confirming a residency, ask the organizers:

• If they can provide a formal invitation letter for visa purposes.
• Whether you receive a stipend, housing, or are expected to pay fees.
• How they classify the residency in terms of work or cultural activity.

Getting that clarity early reduces stress and gives you time to secure any grant or funding support tied to visas or travel.

Choosing the right fit: how Plaza Bonsuccés slots into your practice

Plaza Bonsuccés works well if you want to place your practice right in central Barcelona and plug into a working print studio while still keeping access to a bigger residency network.

• If printmaking is central to your work: the Printmaking Barcelona Residency should be high on your list. The equipment, guidance, and central location are hard to replicate.
• If you’re research- or city-focused: consider pairing a studio stay near Plaza Bonsuccés with a more discursive residency like BAR Project or other project-based programs.
• If funding is tight: prioritize programs that either include housing or support you with stipends or letters for grant applications, and treat Plaza Bonsuccés as your “production sprint” where you use every day of studio time intensively.
• If accessibility is crucial: the elevator and wide doors at Printmaking Barcelona make it more viable than many older, stair-only studios in Ciutat Vella.

Used well, Plaza Bonsuccés becomes more than just a nice central square. It’s a practical pivot point linking you to professional printmaking facilities, a dense urban art scene, and a set of residencies and studios spread across Barcelona’s neighborhoods. You get a place to print, think, and meet people—all within a few metro stops or a walk from your front door.