Eight projects move on to the second phase of Micelio VI

We share the shortlisted projects in Micelio VI Participatory Art Call for Proposals

Micelio VI Convocatoria de Arte Participativo has closed its first phase with the pre-selection of four initiatives for each of the categories included in the call: general category and category <35. These eight projects will move on to the final phase, where they will be evaluated by the selection committee of this edition. At the end of the second phase, two selected projects will become part of the Concomitentes network.

Many thanks to all the people, collectives and groups that have submitted a project to this call for proposals with the aim of having a positive impact on their environment.

Shortlisted projects in the general category:

When the leaves weep ash is a participatory project that arose in response to the increase in forest fires in the Biosphere Reserve of the Omaña and Luna Valleys (León), with the aim of transforming the vulnerability of the territory into collective awareness, resilience and preventive action. The initiative seeks to activate educational, cultural and community processes that strengthen the link between population, landscape and traditional knowledge in the face of the climate crisis. A project promoted by the citizen collective Hojas volanderas, formed by inhabitants and professionals of the territory, mediated by Marta Uribarri and Laila Bermúdez, cultural managers with extensive experience in curatorship, artistic production and development of cultural projects linked to community and territory.
Location: Valles de Omaña y Luna, León

Llaqtawasi (house of the people) is a project that proposes to create an itinerant climatic and cultural refuge in peripheral neighbourhoods of Madrid, especially aimed at migrant communities affected by heat waves and urban environmental inequality. The initiative seeks to activate spaces of encounter, care and connection with the earth based on the knowledge and ritual practices of native peoples. A project promoted by the Asamblea Plaza de los Pueblos, an activist network linked to processes of decolonisation and defence of the land, mediated by Silvia Ramírez Monroy, a researcher and curator specialising in collaborative artistic practices, investigates the political dimension of the arts; and forms part of the collective La Parcería.
Location: Madrid

Nocturnitats is a project that seeks to involve citizens in the preservation and recovery of the ecosystems necessary for the return of fireflies, addressing issues such as habitat loss, light pollution and the deterioration of urban biodiversity. The initiative proposes to activate processes of awareness-raising, collective learning and community action on the relationship between city and nature. A project promoted by Cristina Espinosa, environmental activist, and Batec, an association dedicated to the protection and awareness of animal welfare, mediated by Helena Muñoz, artist, manager and cultural mediator specialising in collaborative practices that connect art, education and community.
Location: Cardedeu, Barcelona

Re-Lanar seeks the biocultural transition towards coupled human-natural systems in a participatory project that addresses the crisis of wool as a dead-end waste, transforming it into a strategic resource for ecological innovation, the circular economy and the preservation of the protected landscape of the Sierra Oeste de Madrid. It proposes to investigate and prototype sustainable uses and new narratives together with livestock farmers, the local community, the scientific sector and institutions, in a territory of maximum environmental protection ZEPA/ZEC. The project is promoted by ISLA, with the support of Ateneo Antoniorrobles, a cultural association dedicated to community mediation and cultural activation. It is mediated by Lucía H. U. Mendoza, curator and cultural manager specialised in contemporary art, sustainability and climate action.
Location: Robledo de Chavela, Community of Madrid

Shortlisted projects in the <35 category:

Before the bush dies is a project that seeks to make visible the ecological and social consequences of forest fires in the province of León, focusing on the forms of life - human and non-human - affected by the fire and on the need to regenerate ecosystems from a biocultural perspective. The initiative aims to raise awareness and generate new narratives about the loss of biodiversity and the resilience of the territory after the Fasgar fire. A project promoted by the interdisciplinary collective BotániKs, dedicated to environmental conservation and dissemination, mediated by the researcher and cultural producer Belén Sola (LAAV_) and the botanist Estrella Alfaro Saiz, who work at the intersection between art, science and community.
Location: Fasgar y Colinas del Campo de Martín Moro Toledano, León

Echoes of the ravine: Laboratories of memory and landscape is a project that seeks to strengthen the link between young people and the territory of Valsequillo (Gran Canaria) through participatory processes that connect natural heritage, collective memory and local cultural practices. The initiative proposes creative laboratories, intergenerational walks and listening spaces to activate knowledge about the landscape and encourage care for biodiversity in the face of its degradation. A project promoted by a youth group that is being articulated under the name “Generation Barranco”, linked to local associations that work on the recovery of traditions such as the silbo and the jump of the shepherd, with the mediation of Laura Ojeda and Teresa Gubern, cultural managers specialised in community mediation, participation and environmental sustainability.
Location: Valsequillo, Gran Canaria

Emboirats (when the cloud touches the ground) is a project that seeks to question the dominant model of digitalisation based on the social and ecological impacts of the expansion of data centres in Aragon and Catalonia. The initiative proposes to open up, through imagination and artistic practice, new ways of thinking about fairer and more sustainable digital infrastructures, linking the defence of the territory with alternatives of ecosocial transition and digital sovereignty. A project promoted by a citizen network of neighbours, researchers and activists from different collectives working to defend the territory against the accelerated expansion of hyperscale data centres.
Location: Gállego River Basin: Villamayor de Gállego and Villanueva de Gállego (Zaragoza) and Cerdanyola del Vallés (Barcelona).

Water Mycelium: Biodiversity refuges in the monumental axis of historic Córdoba is a project that proposes to transform spaces in the monumental surroundings of Cordoba into living climatic refuges that mitigate the extreme heat and reconnect the city with the biodiversity of the Guadalquivir River. Through art, the initiative proposes to create systems that cool the public space and encourage the presence of river flora and fauna, integrating climate adaptation, heritage and environmental justice. A project promoted by the youth collective Raíces de Cambio, formed by young people in the process of restorative justice who seek to contribute to the care of the urban environment and demonstrate the transformative potential of youth participation.
Location: Cordoba