The ACED methodology has been designed in ADESTE+ and was first applied to our artistic partners. In the case of Spain, we started a capacity building with Harinera in May 2019 and by September 2019 the prototype was already defined. You can learn more about the results here.
The next phase was what we call the ADESTE+ Waterfall which is about doing the journey with external artistic partners. We have travelled the road three times in Spain, although in this article we are going to focus only on the first one. Based on an agreement with BizkaiKOA, a network of small museums in Bizkaia, we have had the opportunity to work with five small local museums:
- Sala Rekalde (Bilbao): Sala Rekalde is a space designed to deepen the knowledge, reception and dissemination of different contemporary artistic practices. Since its creation in 1991, its trajectory has been linked to the investigation of contemporary production from within and outside our borders, through work proposals capable of echoing the debates around which today’s art revolves.
- El Pobal Forge (Muskiz): In this water-driven facility, iron ore was wrought into all types of tools and utensils. It was built at the beginning of the sixteenth century by the Salazars, the family that ruled over the area from the Muñatones Castle, and it continued operating until 1965. Open to the public since 2004, El Pobal is a living museum dedicated to two of the most important preindustrial activities of the province: iron manufacture and milling. Visitors to this beautiful spot on the banks of the Barbadun river can see the two water wheels in action.
- Archaeological Museum (Bilbao): The Arkeologi Museoa was first opened to the public on 3 April 2009 with the mission of managing the archaeological findings in Biscay. The Arkeologi Museoa is a centre of reference and dissemination channel of the archaeological research of Bizkaia by means of its activities aimed at raising awareness of the history of the province, encouraging archaeological studies and guaranteeing the deposit, conservation and restoration of archaeological materials. Its permanent exhibition takes us from the start of human life in our territory, over 100,000 years ago, to periods in history.
- Museum of the Basque Country (Gernika-Lumo): It is situated in the Baroque palace of Alegría, rebuilt in 1733. The Provincial Government of Bizkaia acquired the premises in 1982 and rehabilitated it as the Museum of the Basque Country. Its mission is to help illustrate the historical, political and cultural significance of the region and explain the principal characteristics of the Basque spiritual community.
- Txakolingunea (Bakio): The “Txakolingunea” interpretive centre celebrates and informs visitors about Bakio’s txakoli, considered the cradle of Biscay’s txakoli. Txakoli is a wine that has been produced in the Basque Country for centuries. A series of audio-visual narratives and interactive displays deal with the past and present of this young, sour and fruity wine.
In the following video you can learn more about the ADESTE+ Waterfall in Spain with BizkaiKOA, and specifically about the cases of Sala Rekalde and El Pobal.
Macarena Cuenca, Project coordinator. University of Deusto
