Artesanía de Galicia - POTSFINK

What say the murmurers?OpinionDavid BarroArt Critic and Exhibition CuratorThe challenge was difficult: to set up an innovating and pioneering fair in Galicia in order to put our craftson an international perspective. There will be those who didn’t understand, who haven’t travelled andseen how these things take time and effort, who believe that the costs don’t justify the result. But the factgoes far beyond what one can see over three days, and the promoting of our handicrafts will remain inthe memory of those who only heard of it, of those who were only aware of that reality when they saw theadvertising, of those who had the opportunity to look at the catalogue, of those who were able to enjoythe promotional videos, of those who delve into the memory-book published days after the fair or of thosewho are reading this magazine.There is no lack of ideas in Galicia, but there is a lack of connections, intermediate spaces, bridgingplaces for the up and coming elements of our craftwork can develop, for us all to become aware of itsuniversal character and of its existence beyond the topics. On many occasions we have spoken about theperiphery and about our position, more than due to the physical situation, this concept comes about becauseof budget restrictions and efforts that haven’t been carried out. Galician culture and our handicraftshave abused of an imaginary that insisted on their exclusively rural origins, and in that sense it is necessaryfor it to acknowledge itself also as being avant-garde, with neither reticence nor prejudgments. Andthis was possible at the MOA, in the quality of its exhibitors and their products, in the modernization oftheir image, in the diversity of the proposals, in its condition as a meeting point and as a place to developand grow. The effort was great and was important, although certainly not enough, because it is urgent tocarry on, to go forward on the path of the normalization and internationalization of the handicrafts sectoras has been achieved in other sectors.For those who now the universe of fairs, managing to get eighty one exhibitors is something exceptional.As is the quality of some of the craft workers and artists who participated in the exhibition. In the Gallerythe aim was to expand the concept of craftwork, precisely seeking out the less commercial products and aconfrontation between Galician handicraft and contemporary international handicraft. Thus there was thesetting up and presenting of the works assuming the unusable area of the space for a series of performancesthat granted life and movement to the exhibition. We were thus able to move through the imagesand empower the idea of a parallel “event” in order to give primacy to surprise and to explore that placeas a craftwork space in which anything might happen. Important craft items, some of a monumental size,surrounded a meeting point or a leisure area presided over by a radio programme that granted a voiceto the true protagonists of the fair, the exhibitors and guests. Always starting from one premise: to connectthe country and comprehend that which Tolstoy stated: “paint your village and you will be universal”.43