MATILDE MEIRELES

What does it sound like on a festival site where its vernacular music stage no longer fulfils its original function? This artistic research residency explored the sonic dimensions of abandoned festival lanscapes within the context of Galicia, Spain. The case study was Portomouro (picture below), where I explored various listening possibilities at different scales to reflect on how the passage of time is embedded in the material remnants of its festival grounds.

This residency was part of the Incipit Residencies programme for artistic research, which is promoted by the Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (INCIPIT, CSIC) in collaboration with the Fundación Cidade da Cultura de Galicia. The outcome of this residency will be an output of the research project PALCOS.

PALCOS

PI: Iñigo Sánchez-Fuarros

Research Assistant: Fátima Rodríguez Porto

Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

PALCOS is a research project that aims to map, catalogue and document the vernacular music stages scattered throughout Galicia. The project seeks to map living, reappropriated, fossilised or forgotten structures, in particular the modest ones made of blocks, bricks or concrete. These informal structures were constructed between the 1970s and 2000s to accommodate the emergence of new musical formations, yet they are now often in disuse.

Vernacular music stages are a common feature of many towns, parishes and villages in Galicia. Their continued presence in local festivities is indicative of the changes that have occurred in the social, economic and cultural ecosystems of the areas in which they are located. As repositories of memories and local knowledge, these structures exemplify the vernacular architecture of Galicia, which is frequently overlooked in heritage debates. This architectural style is often perceived as an example of urban 'ugliness', and therefore deemed to be exempt from value and/or protection.

Project website