The façade of the chapel of Sant Joan will host an audiovisual mapping on August 22 and 23 to honour the Vilafranca painter August Rosell, coinciding with the Festa Major.
Vilafranca del Penedès will pay tribute to the painter August Rosell with a mapping show on the façade of the chapel of Sant Joan on August 22 and 23, just after the Novena and Goigs of Sant Fèlix. The initiative, presented yesterday at the Pau Boada hall of the Town Hall, commemorates the artist's 75th birthday and aims to be an institutional and civic recognition of a key figure in local painting.
A visual spectacle to rediscover the town
The mapping, created by artist Sílvia Isach, will last between 6 and 7 minutes and will be projected once the religious events on August 22 and 23 are completed. The projection will traverse some of the most emblematic spaces of Vilafranca that Rosell has immortalised in his paintings, such as streets, squares, and historic buildings, accompanied by a soundtrack that has guided Isach's creative process.
The Councillor for Culture, Àngels Dalmau, highlighted that the chapel of Sant Joan was chosen for its connection with Firart, the art exhibition of the Festa Major in which August Rosell has participated for many years. “In this way, the recognition also highlights the close relationship between the artist and this space for the dissemination of local artistic creation,” Dalmau stated.
A pending debt with the artist
Quim Jubert, one of the former promoters of Firart, recalled that Vilafranca was in debt to August Rosell. “The town has been the inspiring muse for many of his paintings. He has beautifully recreated its spaces many times, so it will forever remain as an aesthetic heritage of Vilafranca,” Jubert declared. “It is essential to thank the aesthetic services provided by his work and his mentorship towards other local artists,” he added.
The event is sponsored by Serveis Mèdics Penedès (SMP) and in collaboration with Firart and the Administrators of the Festa Major 2026. This tribute aims to express gratitude to Rosell for a career dedicated to preserving, through painting, the memory, identity, and beauty of the municipality, leaving an artistic legacy that is part of Vilafranca's cultural heritage.
A mapping that connects generations
The result will be a visual proposal that invites the public to rediscover the town through the eyes of one of its most beloved artists. For the people of Vilafranca, it will be an opportunity to see how their streets and squares transform into moving works of art, an experience that connects pictorial tradition with new technologies. The show will be projected outdoors, allowing everyone passing through the area to enjoy it.
With this initiative, Vilafranca not only celebrates the 75th birthday of August Rosell but also reaffirms the role of local culture as a unifying axis of the community. Residents will be able to see the mapping after the religious events, turning the chapel of Sant Joan into a giant screen that pays tribute to a man who has captured the essence of the town.
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