As we mentioned in the previous post, we spent a few days in Málaga and Granada with a group of students from IES Joanot Martorell who are part of projecte3*, to participate in Encuentro3***, a joint event between Catarqsis, LaFundició, Antonio Collados, Sabina Habegger, and Francisco Espadas, with collaboration from La Casa Invisible and CarTac. During the three days of the event, we followed a pretty tight schedule. Here’s a recap of what happened after the link.
On Thursday the 31st in the morning, we started the event by learning firsthand about the Escuela de Ciudadanía (School of Citizenship) experience, which Paco Espadas, the philosophy teacher at IES Ben Al Jatib in Rincón de la Victoria, has launched with the support of the CarTac group. Some of the institute’s students have formed three groups or research tables on topics related to the immediate environment that directly affect students, such as employment, urban planning, and education. The research groups carry out fieldwork, wander through the territory, interview key informants… and collect material that should be used in a second, more proactive phase. For our part, we presented projecte3* and emphasized the personal research projects that the students are carrying out. We also found certain similarities in the problems that each one has encountered during the development of their respective projects, especially regarding the difficulties in “fitting” the projects into the bureaucratic dynamics and routines of the educational centers.
In the afternoon, we returned to Málaga and set up shop at La Casa Invisible, a social and cultural center managed by citizens in the heart of Málaga that arose from the lack of truly public cultural spaces. In addition to its program of cultural events, it also welcomes individuals and groups from political activism or the free software movement, among others. We dedicated a few hours to the conneXions workshop.
On Friday, June 1, we went to Granada with a group of students from IES Ben Al Jatib to learn about the Aulabierta experience, which we have mentioned before. In short, Aulabierta is a research and creation space whose main purpose is the collective construction of learning and which has also been self-built by the students of the architecture and fine arts faculties of Granada. Pablo Pérez explained the “gestation” process of Aulabierta, its objectives, and why it was conceived as a self-built space, as well as the negotiation processes with the faculty’s management. We missed Antonio Collados and Santiago Cirugeda, who could not attend the meeting for various reasons and who are also two of the architects who have helped Aulabierta advance over the past two years to reach the wonderful appearance you see in the photos.
After the presentation, María and Ppda, from Catarqsis, led a workshop on creating environments with the students and teachers from the institutes, in which they rehearsed non-linear ways of establishing creative processes. Once the workshop was finished, we treated ourselves to a barbecue, an ideal moment to start informal conversations and exchange information and experiences, both for those responsible for the different projects and for those who participate in them.
On the last day of the meeting, we returned to La Casa Invisible, where the CarTac (Tactical Cartographies) group had prepared a tour of the historic center of Málaga, during which information and photographs were collected about the social and urban problems of the neighborhood. Previously, the students of IES Joanot Martorell presented projecte3* to the collective, neighborhood representatives, and those responsible for La Casa Invisible, and we also had the participation in the presentation of a representative from Trincharte, the collective formed by Fine Arts students from the University of Málaga, with an experience similar to that of the students from IES Joanot Martorell. Upon returning from the tour, a map was made on the plan of Málaga, which was presented in public after lunch; the CarTac group will add information to develop a tactical cartography of the center of Málaga that will serve organizations such as La Casa Invisible to program and coordinate their activities.
With this, the Encuentro3* program came to an end. With the afternoon free (for some), we were able to enjoy our first swim of the year in the Baños del Carmen, a public space that various social and cultural groups (among which Catarqsis is actively involved) want to protect from the unrestrained urban development fever that characterizes the Costa del Sol. Encuentro3*** has been an excellent opportunity to gather experiences from other processes similar to those of projecte3* or that can provide useful methodologies and tools, while also strengthening networks of contact and support between the different groups. In short, a very positive experience that we desire and hope will continue in various ways.
For now, you can see images of the meeting on Catarqsis’s page on flickr and very soon on ours.
