The Thyssen Museum presents in a documentary the “hidden” knowledge of popular belief in ‘Graphic Narrations’

The Education area of Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum has presented a documentary that collects the work carried out during the fifth edition of its program ‘Graphic narratives’, developed in collaboration with the Federation of Rural Women’s Associations (FADEMUR) and which had as its starting point the exhibition ‘The Hidden’ in the Thyssen-Bornemisza collections, which could be seen at the museum during the summer of 2023.

The project ‘Graphic Narrations’ was born in 2019 with the intention of bringing art closer to different groups to address social issues, as well as promoting critical thinking and intergenerational dialogue through educational proposals.

Since 2021, this initiative has the collaboration of women’s associations in rural areas of Spain and, during these years, it has evolved as a living project that has been adapted and transformed to encompass new forms of participation.

In this call, according to Thyssen, The focus has been on the exploration of “hidden” knowledge and on giving voice to the knowledge transmitted for generations by women in rural environments.visualizing their role as custodians of intangible heritage.

To do this, the Education team worked directly with a group of women from the AURA FADEMUR Association of the Arlanza region, Burgos, in a process that included the compilation of dances, legends, recipes and other traditions transmitted for generations.

“Historically, women have been in charge of keeping tradition alive, transmitting knowledge to younger generations and preserving local culture.preserving the customs and values ​​that have been part of their lives for centuries. Their role as transmitters of knowledge is fundamental to guarantee the continuity of popular wisdom in rural areas and enrich the life of communities,” states the art gallery.

The educators traveled to the region to meet on site with the participants, thus relocating the educational action of the museum. These sessions culminated with Women and Knowledge (from June 15 to September 15, 2023 at the La Consolación Cultural Center, Villamayor de los Montes, Burgos), an exhibition whose purpose was to honor the memory and memory of previous generations of women rural communities through the recovery of beliefs, celebrations or healing remedies.

Divided into three sections (Celebrate, Heal and Believe), the exhibition brought together a selection of works from the museum in dialogue with different traditions materialized in formats such as photographs, objects and podcasts. It was energized by the women of FADEMUR themselves, who gave guided tours to the public, and nearly 500 people visited it.