Context and purpose
Formulated by the cultural mediation collective Baiven, the social sciences professional Julián Guerrero and the Institute of Sustainable Processes of the University of Valladolid, the proposal activates research-action processes around water as a cultural element. The project locates its work in Vallecas, where the Naval Battle serves as a platform to connect local, artistic and scientific knowledge in a densely populated urban context. The initiative frames these processes in the Foundation’s Citizen Art axis, which supports projects that articulate artistic and social expressions to address contemporary socio-environmental problems.
Strategy and activities
Dancing the Water organizes workshops, meetings and mediation processes that integrate artistic methodologies and scientific approaches. These spaces seek to facilitate the co-production of knowledge located between neighbors, researchers and cultural agents. The Naval Battle, as a community celebration, is incorporated as a laboratory of practice and reflection in which the relationships with water are problematized and resignified. The project combines participatory practices with ethnographic research to document the experiences and knowledge that emerge from these encounters.
Community Collaboration and Engagement
The development of the project involves the Vallekas Maritime Brotherhood and the association BAH – Bajo el Asfalto está la Huerta, organizations that provide perspectives on festive heritage, community identity and ecological practices in the neighborhood. These local entities actively participate in the proposed activities, contributing to the process integrating practical knowledge of the territory and its history. The articulation between community agents, scientists, and artists reflects the transdisciplinary approach of Composing Knowledge and the intention to expand the forms of social knowledge about water.
Perspectives and contributions
Based on the planned collective activities, Dancing the Water aims to consolidate spaces for dialogue between art and science that can influence the way in which urban communities think and act regarding water. The initiative opens up possibilities for local experiences to generate learning applicable in similar contexts, positioning the culture of water as a field of social and artistic reflection that dialogues with current environmental urgencies.