Territorio Mudéjar holds its annual assembly with 34 towns in attendance and an action plan for spotlighting Mudejar heritage and creating jobs in rural areas

Territorio Mudéjar now has 34 member towns – it started with 22 in 2018 – that will benefit from an activity program in 2020 designed to support the management, research and dissemination of Mudejar heritage and to create a network of professionals and jobs linked to the management of these historical and artistic resources. The association of towns promoted by the Provincial Government of Zaragoza held its annual assembly online this year and ratified the inclusion of the towns of Mainar, featuring the slender Mudejar tower of the church of Santa Ana, Magallón, represented by the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la Huerta and the church of San Lorenzo, Villarreal de Huerva, with the San Miguel tower and the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, and Zuera, with the San Pedro church.

At the assembly, chaired by the mayor of Tobed, Juan Antonio Sánchez Quero, and attended by the mayors of the member towns, Victoria Trasobares, director of the entity, presented the activity program that is being carried out in 2020 and the adjustments made in response to the COVID-19 situation.

The plan will continue promoting knowledge applied to Mudejar culture thanks to the second call for proposals to the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis grants for projects and fieldwork, which will make it possible to implement up to six fieldwork projects and will help create a network of professionals linked to the towns, with the training and skills needed to ensure that projects are launched and that they remain feasible and are implemented in the future.

Territorio Mudéjar will continue progressing on projects aimed at designing job profiles related to the heritage in the towns in order to attract highly qualified professionals who can generate business ventures in Mudejar locations.

Work will also be done on educational innovation projects, such as the so-called “Circular Desde la Escuela Rural” (Circular from Rural Schools), to include contents related to Mudejar heritage in the curricula and to generate value in the schools to make teaching positions in these towns more attractive and, therefore, more stable.

In turn, Territorio Mudéjar will participate in calls for proposals and European projects that bring investments and foster development in the towns, such as the MOMAr Interreg project by the Provincial Government of Zaragoza and Cultural Heritage in Action, in which the entity was selected in the ‘peer learning visits’ category, generating learning visits among European entities with common goals.

Similarly, the members will continue to receive advice on developing projects and seeking funding, and the dissemination and communication of Mudejar culture will be strengthened through the creation of our own contents, workshops in the towns and activities in the media.

Deadline for submission of proposals for research stays extended until 29 June

Territorio Mudéjar is extending the deadline for submitting proposals for the call for five research stays for the study and management of the heritage and natural resources of its villages until Monday 29 June due to the high number of enquiries received in recent days. This is the second edition of these stays, which bear the name of Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis in homage to the distinguished professor and expert in Mudejar art who died last year. Each of the grants is endowed with 6,000 euros and all of them will be aimed at developing responsible, sustainable and innovative projects that have a direct impact on the rural environment and that favour its visibility and knowledge. Territorio Mudéjar is an initiative promoted by the Diputación de Zaragoza that brings together 34 municipalities to conserve and promote Mudejar art in the province.

Interested parties can submit their ideas until 29 June 2020 at 23.59 pm (CET). Both novice and mid-career researchers and professionals in heritage management with innovative territorial work or projects that also consider responsible and sustainable uses of local resources are eligible to apply. It will also be essential that they contemplate and justify the permanence for a certain period of time in one or more localities of Territorio Mudéjar. Proposals may be in an initial phase, under development, being tested or being implemented, and must demonstrate the direct impact on at least three associated municipalities, as well as their influence on the rest of the territory.

Applicants may apply as individuals or as a research group; they may be at an initial or intermediate stage of their research career or professional activity; and they must provide proof of higher education related to the areas covered by the call and a minimum of two years of research or professional experience, whether paid or unpaid. However, the professional career may be replaced by a master’s degree in areas related to cultural heritage.

With this second call for Gonzalo Borrás Gualis research stays and projects, Territorio Mudéjar has set itself the objective of promoting knowledge of the rural territory from its Mudejar identity through innovative approaches that have a positive impact on the villages and that promote a network of work on the possibilities offered by the resources of the territory and collaborative and interdisciplinary work. It also aims to create dynamics of social participation in the field of heritage. Furthermore, the specific aim is to improve knowledge of the Mudejar as a World Heritage Site and the benefits it brings as an international brand recognised by Unesco.

Five different lines of research

The first of the five areas on which the projects submitted to the call for proposals may focus is New perspectives on Mudejar art, which includes updating data on this heritage in terms of monuments, urban, ethnographic and linguistic aspects, as well as technical languages applied to this style. Geolocation and cartographies are also included, as well as other aspects that allow the scientific base on this artistic style to be broadened.

A second line of research is Mudejar Territory and cultural landscape. It will assess the action of people on heritage resources, social and natural contexts and the interaction and relationship between landscape and monumentality.

The management of cultural heritage is the third area of action, which encompasses new models of uses in heritage management other than tourism or leisure. It also includes studies of physical, economic or intellectual accessibility, as well as future ideas for conservation and intervention in heritage.

New media discourses and knowledge or information for a general public will be the subject of the proposals in Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage.

Finally, in Mudejar Heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development, projects related to social participation in the enhancement and collective construction of new forms of learning, intergenerational experiences, or emotional ties and roots as a basis for the protection and management of heritage will be considered.

Basis of the call: https://www.territoriomudejar.es/estancias-de-investigacion-y-proyectos-2020/

Countdown to the second call for research stays in Territorio Mudéjar

If you have an idea and a Mudéjar Territory place where to develop it, we are already offering you a preview of the 2nd call for the Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis Research Stays and Projects 2020, which will open its deadline for applications on the 10th. In the meantime, we have prepared a summary of the key aspects we are looking for in the proposals and a major update of the contents of our website, with a summary of the results of the 2019 call in the projects section, as well as an overview of the localities that make up our entity.

If you need guidance on what kind of proposals you can put forward, from today, our 2019 resident researchers will be explaining their proposals and results through our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels.

In addition, an explanatory video is available from the director of Territorio Mudéjar, Victoria Trasobares, on the characteristics of these grants, the requirements and the five lines of research: New perspectives on Mudejar art; Mudejar Territory and cultural landscape; Management of cultural heritage; Communication and dissemination of Mudejar heritage, and Mudejar heritage and its social function as a key element of territorial development. At the end of May we will also open live forums for the resolution of doubts.

Soon we will tell you the details of the call and we will inform you about all the news. We hope you will participate and we will see you at Territorio Mudéjar!

You can find us at

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNlRwwS3qWi6qmHcEa6UQxQ?view_as=subscriber

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/proyectoterritoriomudejar/

INSTAGRAM: @territoriomudejar

LINKEDIN:@territoriomudejar (company profile)

April 18. Day for Monuments and Sites: Shared Heritage

Territorio Mudéjar joins the celebration of the International Day for Monuments and Sites this April 18 by taking part in the ICOMOS Spain initiative to find examples of shared heritage that you can enjoy from home. This year, ICOMOS has chosen the theme, “Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility” as an expression of our global unity in light of the present world health situation.

This message shows that heritage is part of our cultural identity at a time in which evolving populations, conflicts and environmental uncertainty lead to constant, swift changes. The theme acknowledges that heritage – be it a place, landscape, custom or collection – is often linked to and appreciated by several diverse groups and communities, and Territorio Mudéjar shares this message in its mission and values. In sum, this means being collectively responsible for looking after and protecting heritage values.

Territorio Mudéjar invites you to enjoy its heritage with this video:

https://www.facebook.com/proyectoterritoriomudejar/videos/685295782236850/

More info: https://icomos.es/dia-internacional-de-los-monumentos-y-sitios-2020/

Territorio Mudéjar, main feature of the UNESCO “World Heritage” magazine

Our towns are featured in an extensive article in the first issue of this landmark magazine

The towns and heritage of Territorio Mudéjar are featured in the first issue of “World Heritage” magazine, published by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This landmark magazine has devoted two pages to Mudejar art in the province of Zaragoza, outlining the key points that make Mudejar a unique, avant-garde style in which we can read the history of Aragon.

The article, which is available in Spanish, English and French, explains how the Mudejar art of Aragon, the architecture of which was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2001 due to its “universality, uniqueness and authenticity”, tells the story of our region and reveals an extraordinary rural setting that contrasts with the more ethnographic image commonly associated with villages. It is cultured, refined architecture that, nonetheless, remains close to everyday life and shows us a region that exudes intellectualism and beauty.

Here is the link for you to read the article:

Territorio Mudéjar presents its model at the MOMAr Interreg Europe meeting in Corsica

At this event, we exchanged good practices in managing sustainable rural heritage with a focus on people

Territorio Mudéjar traveled to the French island of Corsica to take part in a meeting of the MOMAr Interreg Europe project*, an initiative led by the Provincial Government of Zaragoza for the purpose of designing new rural heritage management models that foster sustainable development and adapt to the specific features of each region.

There, we exchanged good practices on a highly interesting topic: “Without people, there are no resources: local management exchanges observing efficiency, sustainability and demographic fragility”. This idea is in Territorio Mudéjar’s genes, since we work as a network around heritage resources in the Mudejar field, always closely linked to the towns and their inhabitants. We are convinced that heritage is alive and evolving because it is part of a context that is lived in, urban, and in the midst of people.

Some of the inspirational examples of heritage management that we learned about include the Route of the Romanesque in Germany, the monumental churches and farms in Groningen (the Netherlands), the efforts to preserve traditional Romanian embroidery on blouses in Mehedinti county and, of course, two projects from Aragon: the sustainable networked management of Territorio Mudéjar and promotion of the ancient village of Belchite (Provincial Government of Zaragoza).

Territorio Mudéjar discussed the management of cultural heritage as a possible strategy for the future. We believe that places in which historical, cultural and natural heritage resources are managed in a conscientious and intelligent manner are resilient, distinctive and identity-based. Places for investment, development and future.

Our efforts are based on these foundations, and this is how we have explained it at the meeting, in addition to discussing how our unified, collaborative network for heritage management works, and talking about all aspects of the Mudejar (architecture, urban design, landscape, popular culture and more) and about the projects we are implementing.

Together, we strive to design new strategies for rural heritage management that foster sustainable development and adapt to the unique identity of each region.

Our hosts gave us a first-hand view of how they work at the Corsican Movable Heritage Conservation and Restoration Center (CCRPMC) located at Fort Charlet in the town of #Calvi, which is in charge of safeguarding the knowledge, preservation and promotion of this heritage. There, we discovered their resources and magnificent artistic and religious heritage.

We also traveled to the city of Corte to learn about the project for the transformation of its citadel, built in the 15th century, and its watchtower, which presides over the entire city. In addition, we also visited the temporary exhibitions at the Museum of Corsica.

*MOMAr is the acronym for the project name: Models of Management for Singular Rural Heritage.

More information: https://www.interregeurope.eu/momar/

Rural schools and heritage, a forward-looking partnership

Territorio Mudéjar is participating in the first workshops on rural schools, organized by the Centro de Profesorado (Center for Teachers) in Calatayud.

Rural schools in Aragon have always been a laboratory for rural innovation. Some of the most avant-garde educational initiatives have arisen there, later expanding to other schools in Aragon and even being duplicated across the country. One of the reasons for the success of these rural school projects is that they use the land as a reference for learning, making the environment a necessary element of the curriculum in order to educate with a sense of roots. At Territorio Mudéjar we share and promote these same distinguishing features, so we could not miss the “Escuela rural en clave de futuro” (Rural schools in terms of the future) workshops organized by the Center for Teachers in Calatayud.

We were there today, not only to accompany the teachers and schools from our Territorio Mudéjar (schools in the districts of Aranda, Campo de Daroca and Comunidad de Calatayud), but we also had the opportunity to discuss with some of them how we believe that heritage and education form a perfect partnership for innovation.

At Territorio Mudéjar we are working on several projects related to education: “Escuela rural como inicio del círculo” (Rural schools as the start of a circle) and research and development on educational materials. On the one hand, we aim to introduce ways of working with heritage into rural school curricula and, on the other, we intend to provide materials and resources to schools to help students learn to appreciate the natural and cultural heritage in their towns and to enable them to generate proposals for economic and demographic growth in order to counteract depopulation trends.

More info: http://profesoradocalatayud.catedu.es/escuela-rural-en-clave-de-futuro/

Territorio Mudéjar participates in the first meeting of the European MOMAr project

The aim of this project, which involves regions from five other countries and which will continue until January 2023, is to design new models for managing unique rural heritage.

In conjunction with other entities devoted to heritage management and rural development, Territorio Mudéjar took part in the first meeting with local agents from the province of Zaragoza in the European Interreg MOMAr project –Models of Management for Singular Rural Heritage-, an initiative led by the Provincial Government of Zaragoza for the purpose of designing new rural heritage management models that foster sustainable development and adapt to the specific features of each region.

The MOMAr project has a budget of EUR 1.2 million, and involves five other regional governments from five different European countries. It was approved last year, began in September with an initial meeting in Zaragoza of the six participating administrations, and will continue until January 2023.

The ultimate goal is to create a working document that outlines an action plan for the province of Zaragoza entailing all the stakeholders involved in heritage management and dissemination.

More information: https://www.interregeurope.eu/momar/

Video: https://www.facebook.com/315247192523931/videos/577438746140624/

FITUR 2020: Territorio Mudéjar as a role model of sustainable tourism and cultural heritage

Territorio Mudéjar is presenting at the leading international tourism trade fair a model for access to heritage that poses an opportunity to uphold local communities

Territorio Mudéjar is present at FITUR 2020, the leading tourism trade fair, which has become an excellent showcase for spotlighting the potential of our towns and heritage, as well as our proposal for smart, ‘green’ tourism strongly linked to the towns and their inhabitants.

At Territorio Mudéjar we strive to develop Mudejar heritage management practices that foster responsible, sustainable tourism designed by those in the places where the heritage is located, always in conjunction with their inhabitants.

We believe that heritage is a driving force for the development and identity of our towns. And we consider preservation, research and dissemination of the Mudejar identity to be key factors in the creation of tourism activities, which must always be designed from within the region and in conjunction with its inhabitants.

Therefore, we have aligned our work with the goals of Agenda 2030 and with the SDGs, as our guiding principles.

In this sense, as we shall explain at FITUR:

  • We promote the management of local eco-systems, extraction and use of nearby materials, native trades and craftsmanship that reduce energy consumption, and investments, all of which aid in the creation of sustainable means of subsistence and encourage green economies.
  • We believe that knowledge is key: accessibility to heritage as a starting point. We contribute our perspective in the construction of quality education at all levels that promotes learning opportunities which we believe to be crucial in the promotion of economic growth and high quality work.
  • We work with heritage space as a concentrator for rural innovation: new uses, workplace innovation, gender equality, inter-generational experiences and, in sum, working to reduce the inequality that arises, in our case, from working with world renowned heritage in a rural setting.

We firmly believe that places in which heritage resources – historical, cultural and natural – are managed in a conscientious and intelligent manner are resilient, distinct and identity-based places. They are places for investment, development and future.

To better spotlight our region, we will also be presenting a video at FITUR 2020, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCaStafQfA