Writer, artist and performer Ruby Boukabou is a woman who never stands still. A frequent visitor to Europe, the Australian dynamo has numerous projects on the boil at any one time: be it tap dancing, writing travel features, taking a new art course, or working on a new book.
Lately, she’s been spending lots of time in Barcelona, getting to know the vibrant Spanish city intimately, in particular its artistic scene.
The result is impressive new pocket guide book, The Art Lover’s Guide To Barcelona. Ruby chats to us about why Barcelona is so special:
Ruby, who will this book appeal to?
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Anyone interested in art, travel and Barcelona. It’s got lots of practical tips and addresses for people planning to visit. But as it also includes history, anecdotes and photos, it should also appeal to armchair travellers.
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What prompted this new project, uncovering the best of the arts in this vibrant city?
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I’d enjoyed my earlier projects,Ā The Art Lover’s Guide to Paris, and The Architecture Lover’s Guide to Paris so then proposed Barcelona to my publisher, White Owl, and this is the result.Ā
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It’s such a comprehensive summary of places to feast your eyes on there, how long did it take you to put the book together?
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Each book takes a year, part time, but with many years of experience going into the mix. I had one intensive period of a month back in Barcelona to conduct the interviews, revisit the museums and galleries, take the photos and design the walking tour.Ā
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How did you got to know and love this Spanish city?
I first went to Barcelona for a tap dance festival in 2006. I fell in love with the city and went back every summer for several years where I’d attend the festival and another tap dance intensive, while mixing with both visitors and locals. It’s a city you quickly become a part of and alongside the dancing I wrote travel and articles about Barcelona, created videos there, mingled with the artists and got to know the culture.Ā It soon became the European city I knew best and enjoyed spending chunks of time in, after Paris, Geneva and Bordeaux.
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How did you end up publicly tap dancing in Barcelona; and were you nervous?
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While I was tap dancing in The Spiegeltent at the Edinburgh Festival, a man ran up to me and invited me to his sand dance show, then later to the festival. It was Guillem Alonso! He’s a famous dancer from Barcelona who has since opened his own tap dance school and festival. The festivals (and the intensive from Roxane Butterfly, a French tap dancer who later had a studio in Barcelona) were a great way to spend summers, sweating it out with other dancers from all over the world for hours every day, then exploring the city together. I had the chance to meet people like Peter Churcher, the Australian figurative painter, who appears in the book.
During the writing of The Art Lover’s Guide to Barcelona, I wasn’t there to tap dance but endedĀ up being asked to perform in an underground art night run by Mercedes de Jesus, a curator I interviewed for the book. I tap danced with a DJ at one part of the event then improvised with musicians in a backyard concert later that night. I wasn’t nervous as tap dancing is my other profession, but I sure did have fun and was thrilled to have kept the balance of writing and reporting about art and making it. It was a great flow!
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Your book includes a handy itinerary for tourists in Barcelona with limited time. But where would you go if you just had a couple of days there?
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I’d do some of the things my book recommends, including going back to the MNAC, national museum for the Romanesque frescoes, Picasso Museum and MirĆ³ Foundation.. then also add some trips to the beach for swims, dinner catch ups in Poble Sec with the artists and curators who are in the book, many who are now friends, and of course tap dance somewhere! The kiosk in the Ciutadella park is a classic rendezvous for tap dancers in Barcelona! It’s also nice to picnic on the grass nearby and enjoy some greenery after the colorful but busy streets). I would definitely go back to do an art class at Arte Bar and visit Robert and the resident artists at the urban art gallery Base Elements. I’m also planning to do a local launch of the book and invite all the passionate curators and talented artists who gave their time to help me write it.
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Do you feel safe there if you were wandering around alone, or do you have to take care?
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I walk everywhere! It’s a small city and it takes about 25 minutes to go anywhere by foot. I walk at any time of the day or night. When I’m exhausted or pressed for time, I jump on the Metro. Yes I feel safe. However a Finish tap dancer and I once had an egg thrown in front of us as we danced down an alleyway at night!
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Your book mentions to watch out for pickpockets – have you experienced them yourself ?
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Yes, several years ago I had my phone stolen.Ā I didn’t even see anyone in my vicinity. They are very professional and have many tricks. You need to be very careful, and try not to look like a tourist!
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You’ve got to meet and know lots of artists during your visits. How has this enriched your love for this city? Have you become much of a collector?
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Yes. It has enriched my love for the cityĀ -and me in general – so much! Artists have an unique way of viewing the world and when we can connect with them on a personal level, it’s always extremely nourishing.Ā
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You split your time between Australia, Europe and North Africa. Is this something you plan to keep doing, or will you eventually settle more for one or two places?
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I enjoy living in different cultures and since there are 12 months in the year and I have friends and family in various continents, I don’t see that changing for a while. Also, Europe is too cold for me in winter so it’s a great excuse to come home to Australia!
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What’s the next big project for you, Ruby?
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I’m working on my next guide book, another Paris one with a cinema theme, I’m performing my cabaret Parisian Time Step in Paris and doing projects with The Paris Tap Crew where we organise jam sessions, tap dance workshops, clips and events. There are a few other writing and performing projects in the mix.
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Where can people buy your new book?
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The Art Lover’s Guide to Barcelona, by Ruby Boukabou, isĀ available on Amazon (paperback and e-book version) but also can be purchased from various major and indie booksellers in various countries including Australia.
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I love ‘Bathelona’.