Pueblos en Arte, the Aragonese initiative that brings art to rural depopulation.
Painters, sculptors, poets, writers, actors and actresses... There are many artists who since 2014 have filled the walls of the town of Torralba de Ribota , in the province of Saragossa. With just over 181 inhabitants, this municipality was positioned on the map as proof that our towns are not dead if we don't want them to . And that culture, once again, can be the best engine to activate them.
Lucía and Alfonso decided more than ten years ago to leave Madrid behind to raise their daughter Greta in the town of Lucía's grandparents. This was how both artists planted the seed of what is now known as Peoples in Art , a project and a story that was portrayed in the award-winning documentary 'Dreaming a place' (2018). For eight years they recorded the transition of what it means to move to a town in rural Spain from a big city.
**TOWNS IN ART**
Almost unintentionally, Lucia, the soul of Peoples in Art began to fill Torralba de Ribota with art, first through the artistic residences and later with other cultural initiatives . This meant that the artists who wanted asked to live for a season in the town where they developed their projects in exchange for sharing them with its inhabitants and with all those who wanted to meet them.
“Peoples in Art is born from a very deep need to share our knowledge with the environment we inhabit . We have been trained in the city in different artistic disciplines and, since we arrived, it has been our dream to share our passion for art with the community, and in this way help reactivate a territory that needs movement”, explains Lucía to Traveler.es
Resuming cultural activities in the rural world to strengthen the community and to offer visitors the chance to live different experiences has been her goal, and even pave the way for people who are considering a change of life towards the rural.
Since 2014 they have carried out numerous projects from one town to another in the province, both for the elderly, youth and children. And although the center is in Torralba, they also work in other towns with activities like the poetry festival Poetry , in the small town of Goya, or in Aladrén, Calatayud, in Cinco Villas, Cervera or Aniñón. “ We go where there is someone interested and open who wants to work on culture from a more contemporary point of view and in relation to the community”, she adds.
Currently, and since COVID-19, they are in a process of change and working on more collaborative projects with the neighborhood community, because as they say, people are willing to participate and leave loneliness behind. In recent months they have launched, for example, ‘Free notes of the public and the domestic’ , a collage in book format where women reflect on their role in public and private space.
“We are also waiting to celebrate the ** Grasshopper Festival **, which usually takes place the second week of July, if the circumstances allow it. These small festivals, which take into account the environment where they are held, I think they are safe and are highly sought-after activities”. And, of course, they still stand artist residencies . About five artists currently live in Torralba, but patrons also come to visit, people who want to learn about the project and who can spend a weekend or several days contributing to the town.
Since Peoples in Art they also help those who want to make the transition to rural areas because they know it is not easy. They look for houses to buy to those who are interested, because, as they point out, it is not easy to find a rental here.
And so, without intending it from the beginning, they are collaborating against rural depopulation. “ It was not our objective to repopulate, but a consequence . People go where things happen, if a married couple or a person wants to live in a town, they will be interested in those towns where things happen, where a movement has already started because that indicates a path”.
About her future plans, Lucia is clear. They want to increase private investment and demonstrate to institutions that culture can be an engine to reactivate the rural economy . “We also have new activities in summer such as 'The Matinee' , which will be in the garden of our house. We will do outdoor activities, such as concerts, plastic and performing arts. They will be held in the morning and people can come to the corral as a public (always with limited capacity) and then visit the town”.
**Are you thinking of joining their project?** There are several ways to do it, it can be through artistic residences, as a patron or as a public in their activities. You have all the information here.