Living Waters
Llanos de Penagos, Cantabria| Location | Llanos de Penagos (Cantabria) |
|---|---|
| Period | 2022-2024 |
The project ends with the unveiling of the Lenguas de Agua, by Laia Estruch.
Llanos de Penagos, a small village located in the Pasiegos Valleys of Cantabria, has a valuable cultural and natural heritage that has been forged over time thanks to the close relationship of its inhabitants with the Ozudera creek, which runs through it. What in the past was a central space for social interaction, meetings and traditions, as reflected in elements such as a medieval bridge and several historical fountains, in the last decades has fallen into disuse and decay, which awakened among the neighbours the desire to revitalise their connection with the river and its surroundings.
In response to this concern, on 9 July 2022, more than 40 residents signed a document the commissioning letter setting out several wishes for the town's creek and springs. This milestone was the result of a participatory process initiated in April 2022 by mediators Sören Meschede and Alejandro Alonso Díaz, who worked with a group from the local community.
Over several months, the mediators and the community reflected on the relationship between Llanos and its natural heritage. In spring of 2023, five artists were invited to spend a research period in the village to develop proposals in dialogue with these concerns. This process resulted in Lenguas de Agua (Tongues of Water) by the artist Laia Estruch, an intervention inaugurated at the end of July 2024.
Estruch's proposal transformed the Llanos fountains into sound sculptures: three bronze pieces designed to emit sounds through the interaction of water and air. These sculptures, inspired by collective memory and local traditions, were conceived as a means of reinterpreting the historical narratives and identity values of the village.
In addition to the sculptures, the intervention included the renovation of the surroundings of the main fountain, carried out in collaboration with a local stonemason. This work not only recovered the heritage dimension of this space, but also reactivated it as social meeting place, integrating environmental, cultural and civic values that respond to the collective motivations of the community.
Aguas Vivas demonstrated how art can catalyse processes of transformation in rural areas, creating new ways of relating to the natural heritage and fostering social cohesion in Llanos. In the words of María, one of the promoters of the project: "I think that this process, apart from finding a concrete solution, has already done something very important: it has brought together people who perhaps did not talk to each other before about the shortcomings of the village, which I think is very valuable. Will it solve all the needs of the village? Probably not. But it has opened the door to dialogue and reflection that can continue."
- Profiles
- Commissioners
- Vecinas y vecinos de Llanos
- Mediators
- Alejandro Alonso Sören Meschede
- Artist
- Laia Estruch
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