Territorio Mudéjar will launch a new call for research stays on June 1, with two new features: digital strategy as a vehicle for innovation and the incorporation of the creative field through the modality of “artist residencies”

On June 1, Territorio Mudéjar will open the fourth edition of the “Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis” Fieldwork Stays and Projects, aimed at directly supporting the work of researchers and project promoters who want to work on the development of the towns based on the responsible and sustainable use of cultural and natural heritage resources.

The call offers advice on possible projects for all those professionals who need guidance regarding what kind of proposals can be submitted.

For this reason, we invite you to the presentation programme, where we will explain the rules for participation and you will get to know the results of the projects and the researchers of the 2021 stays.

Each presentation will include an activity related to the project and the space chosen. We look forward to seeing you!

? The first presentation will take place on Wednesday, June 1, at 18.30 with the collaboration of the Monasterio de las Canonesas del Santo Sepulcro.

There, researchers Myriam Monterde, Elisa Plana, David Guirao and José Manuel Herráiz will explain the project Educational Mudejar: the guide.

The stay has focused on the creation of educational material for primary and secondary school students in order to help them interpret the Mudejar through a combination of illustrations and real images as well as to value its rich legacy.

? On Thursday, June 2, at 18.30 in the parish church of San Félix in Torralba de Ribota, Laura Villacampa, Ignacio Pérez Bailón and Javier Gómez Patrocinio will present the project Preventive Urbanism, a tool to take care of our towns.

This research stay offers an analysis and comparative study of the urban planning regulations governing architectural interventions in various towns in the Mudejar Territory.

? On Friday, June 3, at 18.30 in the church of San Miguel de Daroca, María Amor Borque and Serge Dambrine will present Scenic Mudejar, a challenge.

This study has focused on defining strategies in the territory that promote Mudejar identity and reinforce its professional networks through research, creation and artistic dissemination in the field of musical and performance art. It has also designed actions that will enable the programming of future performing art events in the region.

? On Sunday, June 5, at 11.30 a.m. in the church of La Virgen de Tobed, Chema Agustín will present the project The Mudejar and Euclidean geometry or plane geometry.

This fieldwork stay deals with the plastic study of the Aragonese Mudejar in the area of the Mudejar Territory and, by extension, in the province of Zaragoza. The project has made it possible to collect and study Mudejar layout, studying it in depth and with geometric rigour.

These activities are free of charge and prior registration is recommended until 18.00 the day before the activity takes place, by telephone (+34 876 634 125), Whatsapp (+34 649 799 405) or email (info@territoriomudejar.es)

We will soon give the details of the event and inform you of all the news and we hope you will participate. See you in Territorio Mudéjar!

2021 Fieldwork: Scenic Mudejar

Scenic Mudejar.
Exploring stage culture in medieval times: music, dance and minstrelsy

This study has focused on defining strategies in the territory that promote Mudejar identity and reinforce its professional networks through research, creation and artistic dissemination in the field of musical and performing arts. It has also designed actions that will enable the programming of future stage arts events in the region. The project is based on a concept of heritage that encompasses traditions, customs and other artistic expressions that are part of the collective memory.

The project is based on the idea that the performing arts – arts of time and space, of memory and celebration – have the potential to link the past with the present, to develop the contemporary imaginary of a territory and, at the same time, to nurture myths, figures and motifs of local tradition.
Their contribution to local, economic and sustainable development has been studied in the following aspects:

  • Economic profit, derived from greater territorial appeal (the entire cultural sector) and the innovative impulse (the creative industries);
  • Reinforcement of social cohesion, through expressive forms in line with the cultural diversity of the population;
  • Education and awareness-raising of the population on social and environmental issues (e.g., sustainability and nature preservation), through the performing arts in all their creative forms;
  • Control and reduction of their ecological footprint.
The study has been based on fieldwork and on the examination of a vast amount of archival and bibliographical material on Mudéjar scenic arts in order to outline four operational objectives:

  1. To examine, in the local history of three villages of Territorio Mudéjar, the events that could give rise to a commemorative project of a scenic nature;
  2. To highlight, in the tangible local heritage of these three villages, the material elements that could serve as the setting for a musical, theatrical, choreographic or hybrid programme with reference to Andalusi and Mudejar culture;
  3. To examine, in the intangible local heritage of these three villages, the material elements that can be related to the prevalence of Andalusi culture, with a view to proposing their recovery or revitalisation;
  4. To detect, in the local political, educational and cultural network, the dynamics and difficulties that need to be taken into account in order to propose performing arts projects in relation to the “Mudejar identity” of these three villages.
From the analysis carried out, a series of conclusions have been drawn on the aspects in which the Andalusi culture is manifested in Mudejar scenic art, taking as a reference the data obtained from Islamic and Andalusi sources and those obtained afterwards in the context of the Mudejar and Morisco minority.

The research proposes that Mudejar scenic art should be recognised as a category within the history of the performing arts and that there should be no difference between the scenic activity carried out by Mudejars and Moriscos.

The fieldwork stay concludes with the presentation of a detailed bibliography and iconography of the performing arts linked to Territorio Mudéjar, as well as the proposal of some solutions that propose a tangential and mixed repertoire, a symbiosis between the medieval and the contemporary as a way of highlighting this lost but not irrecoverable tradition and to commit to new techniques to develop new projects related to Mudejar scenic art. The aim is to enrich management possibilities for the use of Territorio Mudéjar’s heritage spaces.
LINE OF RESEARCH: Social function

THE AUTHORS: María Amor Borque and Serge Dambrine

2021 Fieldwork: The Mudejar and Euclidean geometry or plane geometry.

The Mudejar and Euclidean geometry or plane geometry

This fieldwork stay deals with the plastic study of the Aragonese Mudejar in the area of the Mudejar Territory and, by extension, in the province of Zaragoza. The project has made it possible to collect and study Mudejar layouts, studying them in depth and with geometric rigour. It has also established similarities between them or with others outside the working area.

In total, around 50 graphic works have been produced, combining diverse technical exercises in strapwork and plasterwork with interior and exterior architectural views. The result is a graphic archive never before developed which allows Territorio Mudéjar to have a collection of Mudejar images for subsequent publications.

The project The Mudejar and Euclidean geometry or plane geometry is fundamental in order to compile the visual richness present in this artistic manifestation declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is unique in the world.

The working methodology has focused on the analysis of photographs, from which measurements and execution systems have been calculated. Linking points, centres, sets of parallels and patterns have been gathered. Also, an attempt was made to recover the geometric solutions used by the Mudejar masters and their sources of inspiration.
The objectives of the project were the following:

  • To study the use of plane geometry in Aragonese Mudejar solutions.
  • To interrelate these solutions between different architectural buildings.
  • To address the existing gap in the constructive and compilation study of the different strapwork and plasterwork techniques.
  • To boost knowledge of the visual richness of Mudejar art.
  • To bring together a collection of artistic creations that will serve Territorio Mudéjar have its own archive.
The rich graphic work created during this stay studies geometric motifs from the church of Santa María de Tobed, the church of Saints Justa and Rufina and the church of Santa María de Maluenda, the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Utebo, the church of San Martín de Tours in Morata de Jiloca, the church of Santa Tecla in Cervera de la Cañada, the church of San Félix in Torralba de Ribota, the collegiate church of Santa María and the churches of San Andrés and San Benito in Calatayud, the palace of the Luna family in Daroca, and the church of Nuestra Señora del Castillo in Aniñón, and relates them to others in the province, the peninsula and the Middle East.
The results, plastic art objects in themselves, will be the subject of different exhibition projects and special editions over the coming months.
LINE OF RESEARCH: New perspectives on Mudejar art.

THE AUTHOR: Chema Agustín.

2021 Fieldwork: Educational Mudejar, the guide.

Educational Mudejar, the guide.

This fieldwork stay has focused on the creation of educational material for primary and secondary school students, in order to make interpretation of the Mudejar easier through a combination of illustrations and real images, as well as to help understand the value of this rich legacy. This teaching resource will be available on the Territorio Mudéjar website, will be accessible through all types of devices and will have an attractive, visual and dynamic presentation. The online publication will be complemented with routes based on maps and with games adapted to the students’ level and linked to the work carried out in the project “Circular desde la escuela rural”. This tool can be used both in the classroom context and at home.
The development of the online didactic guide that summarises the results of the fieldwork stay was carried out through the following phases:
Development of the script and documentation: “Educational Mudejar”.

  • Documentation, development of the idea, script, text writing, creativity with historical-artistic introductions.
  • Design and realisation of different resources and educational materials to adapt them to editorial production.
  • Structure and planning of illustrations as well as trips in order to elaborate the map and the route with photographs and illustrations.

Selection of towns in order to contextualise the educational guide, in the form of a map to explore the towns of Territorio Mudéjar.

  • Taking photographs to mix illustrations and real images in order to help the youngest students to better visualise the contents and understand them. In this sense, the blend of reality and illustration is a basic resource.
  • Photographs for the map and the route.
Illustrations: DAVID GUIRAO:

  • Illustrations and storyboard.
  • Digital retouching and adaptation of illustrations to the right size and format for the production.

Production and execution of the online publication:

  • Search and selection of still images. Includes photographic retouching of images and photomontages.
  • Design and layout of an interactive pdf with a map/plan including routes that are accessible for families and for educational purposes.
  • Motion graphics. Creation of motion graphics (maps, layered photographs, titles, texts).
The result can be consulted through the following button:
SEE DIDACTIC GUIDE
LINE OF RESEARCH: Communication and dissemination.

THE AUTHORS: Myriam Monterde, Elisa Plana, José Manuel Herráiz and David Guirao.

2021 Fieldwork: Preventive urbanism

Preventive urbanism: Guidelines and tools for the protection of
traditional architecture in Mudejar towns from the perspective of urban planning.

This fieldwork stay proposes an analysis and comparative study of the urban planning regulations governing architectural interventions in various towns of Territorio Mudéjar. It does so by providing an overview of the degree of protection of traditional architecture derived from planning, identifying areas for improvement and proposing a framework document that can be used by both private promoters and municipal technicians to improve the compatibility of interventions in traditional constructions. This project continues the research on vernacular architecture initiated in the previous stays.
The work carried out is based on the following general objectives:

  1. To promote the appreciation of traditional architecture within the sphere of influence of Aragonese Mudejar art, bolstering that its construction techniques are perceived as a valuable cultural heritage that needs to be preserved and protected.

  2. To foster the preservation, restoration and compatible renovation of traditional architecture, offering tools that are adapted to the specific casuistry of the sphere of influence of the Aragonese Mudejar.

  3. To boost coordination between municipal administrations and private initiative for the development of interventions which are agile and focused on preservation.

  4. To promote the regeneration of the rural setting through its heritage, proposing alternative uses beyond the tourist sector and offering tools that allow for the development of compatible and respectful interventions with local cultural identity.
Based on these general objectives, a number of specific objectives have been proposed:

  1. To analyse the state of urban planning and its influence on traditional architecture in the towns that make up Territorio Mudéjar.

  2. To create documentation that serves as a reference, in the form of guidelines and preservation objectives that can be used by the local councils in order to encourage and promote compatible intervention and preventive conservation of local traditional architecture.

  3. To boost social involvement with preventive conservation tools and their appropriation by the community by means of citizen participation actions.

  4. To raise awareness of the value of traditional architecture through dissemination activities that emphasise the irreplaceable nature of this architecture and the importance of its preservation.

  5. To encourage the supply and demand of traditional trades, making the virtues and the real cost of these techniques visible and contributing to the creation of a territorial professional network.
The stay ends with conclusions and guidelines for the compatible intervention in the traditional architecture of the area, which will be disseminated among the different interested towns.
LINES OF RESEARCH: New perspectives on Mudejar art; management of cultural heritage.

THE AUTHOR: Laura Villacampa Crespo


COLLABORATORS: F. Javier Gómez Patrocinio, Ignacio Pérez Bailón.