The Trades in the Raval
An unforgettable experience
‘We carried out a lot of activities with the MACBA and at school. Through these projects we discovered new places in the neighbourhood, we got to see different professions from the inside, we learnt to structure an argument and express ourselves through photography.’
‘I plan to search the Raval for computer shops or look up “elec - tronic shops” on Google Maps and then go there and ask a couple of questions about components, and also ask if they can help me to build my own computer.’ ‘We’ll need Google Maps to help us find it on the map. We’ll have a look at coworking websites, and for extra help, we’ll go to the ‘Diàlegs de Dona’ Association and ask them about these places.’
‘We have all really enjoyed this project, as it’s exposed us to new things. We’ve been able to go outside the classroom and into different environ - ments. The workplan included trips, talks, a range of activities, and home - work which we could do either alone or in a group.’
The memory of objects
‘One of the first activities was to choose an object and describe what it meant to you personally.’ ‘We never thought that one day we would have to share a part of our past through something which for us was just an object. An object which had many memories associated with it, and which we had to share with the rest of the group: rings, necklaces, our first dress, etc. We have learned to value the objects that accompany us through life.’ ‘We all presented an object that unites us sentimentally with our loved ones and with our past.’
The trades in the Raval
‘More than a year has passed since the pandemic started. Since Teresa couldn’t come in to school, we came up with the idea of doing video calls with her to keep the project going.’
‘We chose glass because it’s a very difficult material to work with and you can make so many different shapes and figures with it.’
‘Those video calls were very helpful: she suggested we look for shops that sell handmade things and do interviews.’
‘It’s a shop where they also teach you how to design, sew and make garments. Fashion design professionals work there and they design clothes and show others how to do it.’
It wasn’t easy because sometimes the Wi-Fi failed and we would have to go and look for another classroom. But it also fun because the idea was original and creative.’ ‘These conversations increased our self-esteem and also calmed us down because it was the first time we’d had the chance to participate in a project of this scale. This first experience was amazing.’ ‘Teresa Lanceta has taught us how to get more out of our neighbourhood.’
‘My mother loves this park and she used to take me there. It has a very urban feel and it felt safe because you always saw the same people and you could make friends.’
‘Thanks to her and the project, we have discovered that, despite being small, our neighbourhood has a lot of outlets for different cultures and languages. Our neighbourhood has a personality of its own.’
‘What colours a neighbourhood are the people who live in it. The Raval often gets negative press because of its past and its current circumstances. People from lower and middle classes live there, which brings problems such as evictions, robberies, drugs, etc. But if you take the time to really discover it, you realise that it’s only a few individuals that blot the canvas that all of us residents paint together.’
With the MACBA team
‘We met some amazing people. There were archivists, photographers, conservators, curators... All of them essential for keeping the MACBA alive and vibrant.’ ‘At first we were nervous and excited, which is normal because it was the first time we’d ever faced the challenge of conducting real interviews with museum professionals and we didn’t know how well it would go. We were also apprehensive because we were recording it and we didn’t want to get our words wrong.’ ‘We didn’t know what questions to ask or how many... We also had some technical doubts.’ ‘It was really nice meeting them because they treated us so well. They even gave us water and showed us their offices.’ ‘We were impressed by the way they confided in us and shared details that weren’t known to the public.’
Mobile in hand, camera, and action!
‘One of the projects was on photography. We had to work as a group. We were caught by surprise.’ ‘One of the photographs was a selfie; another, an object we always carry around with us; another was of a characteristic gesture or pose taken by a classmate. It was great fun and we all felt a mixture of joy, awkwardness and embarrassment.’ ‘We realised that the important thing about a photograph is not whether you look good in it, but what it says about you. You have to listen to it, read it and see what it wants to convey.’ ‘Although we may have spent years studying and hanging out together, we don’t always take the time to look closer and try and understand how someone feels.’
End of the academic year 2020–21
‘Before the end of the school year, we divided into groups and each group chose a theme for a panel we would work on: the work of homemakers, street art, video games, etc. The panels were richly decorated, but what stood out the most were the photographs.’
‘Traditionally, women stayed at home to look after the children. Men would go and work in the workshop because apparently it is a night job and women had to stay at home.’ ‘Workers from other countries are not given permission to live or work legally. This means they go into low-paid jobs with very harsh working conditions. They face possible abuse at work and are forced to work very long hours.’ ‘Some artists have no other way of earning a living with their art but by selling it on the streets as they are ignored by galleries. They are brave to keep at it.’
‘The last thing we did in this project was to mount an exhibition of the panels which also included pieces of writing and our family trees showing our ancestors and their trades.’
Learnings
‘In the last three years of ESO (compulsory secondary education), while working with the MACBA on the various projects, we discovered that we all have an artistic side, it’s just that we hadn’t realised.’ ‘The work we did over the year gave us useful knowledge, valuable skills, a new appreciation of our surroundings and a more critical view of the world.’ ‘Through this experience we gained self-confidence, we came together as a group much more and we carried out tasks we thought impossible, such as the panels and the interviews.’ ‘We would like to say how satisfied we feel at having done this project, at having made the effort and planned it properly. It has made us grow and we’ve enjoyed every moment of it.’ ‘This project has helped us reflect on our surroundings. The different cultures and atmospheres make the place livelier and transport you around the world and open your eyes.’
‘To sum up, we would like to thank the teaching staff, the MACBA and Teresa Lanceta for having given us this wonderful opportunity, and we would also like to thank our classmates for actively collaborating in this project and making it an unforgettable experience.
Maps with Nicolas Malevé
‘Open a map, unfold it, follow its lines with your finger; trace, compare, look closely, search, describe, photograph, join or separate words, lines, spots, pixels... Look at the maps that sell us things, that organise our environment, that plan, predict, fly above. They’re trying to tell us something, they want us to do something, or to prevent us from doing it. They show us how to move about and how to stand still. Maps that insist, highlight. The chain stores that are descending on every big city around the country. Maps made for shopkeepers, administrations... Maps made for pleasure or as a statement. We look to see where we are and for others to see where we are. We look with a bird’s-eye view, or from a satellite. We draw with a pencil, a GPS, a mouse or just with our fingertips. We see the sediments of the city, the trenches, the traces of siege. And the insistence on roads... Roads built by public administrations and travelled by postmen, dustmen, cleaners, cyclists delivering groceries and ready-made meals. And then, of course, the movements that tell us how we got here and where we want to go... and, with each movement, the question of what we take with us as knowledge, as know-how, as skill, as occupation. And as all this is lost and gained, it acquires another meaning and value, and is forgotten or renegotiated.’
Nicolas Malevé is a visual artist, programmer and data activist.