This morning we visited the “Ninot” exhibition at the Valencia City of Arts and Sciences. We hoped to arrive early to avoid crowds, but that was not to be. This is an important exhibition and it was crowded. For all of us that love cartoons and caricatures, this is an amazing exhibit. Although we had to limit the number of photos we could publish, there were hundreds of ninots exhibited. I think we were smiling throughout the entire exhibit.
Ninots are only one very small part or piece of a larger falla. Infantil ninots are about 20-30” high. It is our understanding the infantils are made by children. The ninots that were created by adults were much larger in the range of 5-8’ tall.
The point of this exhibit, and reason it was so crowded, is for both the public and the fallas committee to vote and choose two winners, one infantil-made ninot and one adult-made ninot. The winning ninots will earn a long term home in the Fallas Museum (which we also plan to visit). The remaining ninots will burn on the final night of the Las Fallas festival, March 19. The actual exhibit will close on March 15, at which time these ninots will be moved and placed into their respective fallas out on the streets.
We learned that Valencia’s Las Fallas festival is recognized by UNESCO as an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. We were just so amazed at the sheer numbers of Ninots in the exhibition, the color, the quality and the playfulness created in each. This indeed seems to be a unique festival and we are *so* glad we chose Valencia as our first city to explore in our travels.
The winning Infantil Ninot Indultat 2018.
The winning Ninot Indultat 2018.
Sorry for the modified photos below. In some cases there was so much clutter from people and other ninots that you couldn’t see the details of the ninot we wanted to share. The crowds were intense and to try and get that perfect shot was impossible. Anyway, for good or bad, hope you enjoy.
Salut from these valencianos,
Ted & Julia
(click on any picture to go to slideshow view)
Our Tapestry 
You didn’t tell us which ones you guys voted for!
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We didn’t officially vote although we did begin to have a few favorites. They were all so striking and somewhat overwhelming. 🤩 Of course we were not able to visit all 350+ of them.
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