What I’ve Learned in Barcelona: My Experiences

When I moved to Barcelona in 2005, I could only afford a simple room and didn’t know anyone. Nevertheless, I knew that this was the right place to become an artist. Everywhere you look in Barcelona, you discover artistic details: on the facades of old buildings, on the sidewalk slabs, and even the balconies are decorated with colorful tiles to make them more appealing to people on the street. 

For me, art is what comes from within – that's why I love improvisation and would never pre-draw my pictures. They always come spontaneously. Barcelona has given me the freedom to follow this artistic vision. Unlike Japan, people here are not afraid of living their dreams and failing from time to time. 

Barcelona has always been open to new ideas. More than 100 years ago, Antoni Gaudí was already expressing his creativity by constructing unique buildings such as the Sagrada Familía or the residential and commercial building Casa Batlló. Nature was an important source of inspiration for him – I also find inspiration in parks or in the nature surrounding Barcelona. I can also highly recommend the Montana Gallery in Poblenou, where young graffiti artists exhibit their work.

In Barcelona, people don’t get stressed out by appointments. They eat three-course meals during their lunch break and would never give up their coffee at the end. They also enjoy the freedom to feel young at every stage of their lives. In any case, I have never seen so many over-seventies dancing at gallery openings or street parties as I do here. I also enjoy feeling like a teenager at almost 50 when I feel like it. 

I like to take friends to the Dry Martini bar, which has won several awards. Behind the counter, bartenders in white jackets mix excellent cocktails, and some of the walls are decorated with my drawings. The same owner also runs the Speakeasy restaurant next door, where you can eat excellent ceviche. I particularly enjoy paella and fish dishes at Racó de la Vila in my neighborhood of Poblenou. On hot summer days, I like to take my family to Platja del Garraf, a beach with golden sand in a natural park just 30 minutes by train from Barcelona. 

If you are in Barcelona on a Sunday, you should definitely stop by La Seu Cathedral, where locals perform the sardana folk dance at lunchtime. They line up hand in hand in a circle and place their bags in the middle so that no one steals them. The best thing is that anyone who wants to can join in. 

Originally from Osaka in Japan, Yoshi Sislay has been working as a graffiti artist in Barcelona since 2005. His playful, monochromatic illustrations adorn hotels, company foyers, restaurants, and even hotel pools from Jakarta to Mallorca. At the 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin, for example, he has decorated all the rooms with his improvised drawings.