Walk through any neighbourhood in Barcelona and you will find us. In the kitchens, on the stages, behind the bars, at the drawing boards. The African diaspora has been shaping this city's culture, food, music, and nightlife for decades. We have always been here. We have just never been properly seen.
That invisibility has a cost. It means Black-owned businesses struggle to access the funding that their work deserves. It means artists perform to packed rooms but can't get a grant. It means our events fill Barcelona's venues every weekend — and the city barely knows our names.
The Grid: BCN was built to close that gap. Not from the outside — but by three people who live it. Co-founder Selam Berhe has run The Station for eight years, one of the few Black women-owned businesses in this city. Her story is not unique. It is the story of too many people in this community.
When Nekeia and Selam stood before city representatives and spoke about what Barcelona's Black community was missing — visibility, access to capital, institutional recognition — the room listened. That conversation opened a door. The Grid is what we're building on the other side of it. A platform that doesn't just celebrate our culture, but makes it count.
"We are not a gap in the market. We are the market — the artists, the chefs, the designers, the dreamers. We built this city's culture alongside everyone else. The Grid is how the city finally gets to see that." — Nekeia Boone, Co-founder
8 yrs
Selam builds The Station.Eight years running one of the few Black women-owned businesses in Barcelona — building community, hosting culture, and learning firsthand what funding barriers look like.
Apr '25
A night that changed everything.A group of Black residents share a night out in Barcelona. The connection is immediate — and so is the recognition that something has been missing.
Apr '25
The community finds itself.A WhatsApp group. 25 members on day one. 100 by the end of the week. A diaspora that was always here — suddenly connected.
2025
The city listens.Nekeia and Selam stand before city representatives and speak about what Barcelona's Black community has been missing — funding, visibility, recognition. The conversation opens a door.
2025–26
The ecosystem takes shape.176 members, 26 businesses mapped, events, collaborations. The culture was always here. Now it has a home.
2026
The Grid: BCN launches.A platform built by the community, for the community — and for every funder, partner, and ally who believes in what we're building.
Next
Juneteenth Barcelona 2026.The community's biggest moment yet. A celebration, a statement, and the beginning of something much larger.
