For centuries, large ocean serpents, monstrous sea lions and other mythological creatures reminiscent of dragons illustrated the margins of maps alongside the Latin phrase Hic Sunt Dracones (“here be dragons”), as a warning that everything beyond these borders was unknown terrain. The same phrase lends its name to the 42 Festival’s main exhibition this year, commissioned by author and veterinarian Eduard Martí Blanch, and the accompanying roundtable discussion will be an opportunity to learn about history’s leading literary dragons, including some that are well known, such as those created by J. R. R. Tolkien and George R. R. Martin, and others that may come as a surprise, such as those found in certain mythological canons and the works of Catalan author Víctor Nubla. In addition to discussing the recreations by artists Kaffa, Elsa Velasco and Sara Sánchez Gallego, on display in the exhibition, the conversation will teach us about dragons’ biological, mythological and anthropological traces, with the help of Sergi Vila de Vicente, an author and science writer, and Jordi Mullor, from Barcelona’s Folk Culture department (with a key role in the exhibition as well). The activity will conclude with a brief guided tour of the exhibition.

*Organised in collaboration with Barcelona Libraries and the Federació de l'Agrupació del Bestiari Festiu i Popular de Catalunya 

Exhibition curator and moderator:

Eduard Martí Blanch

Guests:

Elsa Velasco

Jordi Mullor

Sergi Vila de Vicente