From Memory to Creation

Women of Berrocal

From Memory to Creation is a community-based artistic workshop developed by El Telart in Santa María del Berrocal (Ávila, Spain), with the support of the Town Hall and the Spanish State Pact against Gender-Based Violence.

This project created a space exclusively for women from Santa María del Berrocal, Valdemolinos, and Navahermosa to recover, share, and reinterpret their personal and collective histories through artistic practice.

Over several weeks, participants gathered to:

Revisit memories and local female references Reflect on past and present inequalities Create personal art journals Develop collective cartographies of identity Write letters between past, present, and future Transform lived experience into visual and written expression

The workshop focused on memory as a living archive. Through conversation, drawing, writing, and symbolic gestures, participants traced life timelines, explored words associated with care and strength, and mapped the invisible labor, challenges, and transformations experienced by rural women across generations.

The process culminated in a public exhibition at the local Teleclub, presenting artists’ books, collective installations, archival fragments, and intergenerational voices. Around 50 people attended the opening, reinforcing the importance of cultural spaces where women’s narratives are recognized and shared.

From Memory to Creation understands art not as decoration, but as a tool for dialogue, empowerment, and social reflection. In rural contexts especially, creating together becomes a political act: it strengthens community bonds, preserves memory, and opens new imaginaries for the future.

This workshop is part of El Telart’s ongoing commitment to art, rurality, feminism, and community-based cultural practice.