Access here to the audiovisual report, made by Professor Elena Villamarín.

From the past November 28th 2023 have been developed in the Sculpture area of ​​the Faculty of Arts and Humanities the days "“Encounters around mud”, composed of a group of faculty students and eight people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, belonging to the Rails Foundation, with the target that these people could carry out artistic research activities to which they have usually not been able to access and that they had the opportunity to interact in the university environment.

The project has the direction of Professor Antonio Vigo, the collaboration of professors Elena Villamarín Fernández and Ana Balboa González, the latter director of the GIDMADE Teaching Innovation Group, others professors of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Raíles Foundation and coordination of Julia Morla, professor at the UCM y project director Living Museum Madrid. The idea part of the plenary session recognition of the creative potential in the artistic expression of people with disabilities. In this case, the project also has the novelty of its form of realization, since it has been done in collaboration with the students of the Faculty who, in an enthusiastic way, They have joined during these days to simultaneously learn ceramic techniques in interaction with people of different ages and diversity in support needs., but with those who share the common wish and the interest by improve the quality of your artistic work, as each of them had the opportunity to express on the first day. The students participants have been Isabel Medina Henche, Aroa de Miguel Braz, Marta Peñas Mejías, Roberto Serrano Regueiro, Manuel Ignacio Fernandez Buitrago, Sara Pérez Parras, Eva María Mena Sánchez, Laura Agúndez Ortiz, Alicia Drolma Cires López y Andrea Bertomeu.

These meetings and the making of the pieces Have contributed to all of them the knowledge of working techniques with clay: contact of textures, colors and firing techniques or glazes, with the purpose of deepen at the inclusive nature of culture and creativity, the expression and techniques of ceramics, which finally has allowed publicly present the work and highlight the way in which it has been executed.

Among the individual experiences that employees of the Railes Foundation that promote this meeting (Carlos del Campo and Julia Morla) have been drawn from the participants, during the first days they point out answers , the “happy and participatory”, “He is very comfortable with the material, he enjoys creation and experimentation and he orients himself quite well” or what does it mean “a very enriching experience”.

To to complete this phase of the project, the past The opening of the exhibition took place on May 27 in which, until June 7, the results of the work arising from the activities could be seen carried out during the course. For this purpose, a presentation in the auditorium of the old Pavia barracks building (Aranjuez Campus), prior to the sample visit. There were several interventions, like the Carlos Klett, president of the Railes Foundationhighlighted the importance of carrying out this type of projects outside the usual special care centers, since this allows reach real inclusion goals which have been worked on for years, although there is still a long way to go. For that reason, he made a special thanks to the members of the university community involved directly and indirectly, for the kind welcome received and the facility that has been offered to them since the beginning of the project activities to make the initiative a reality.

For its part, as institutional representative of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Professor Miguel Sánchez-Moñita (Coordinator of the Degree in Fine Arts of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities) wanted to value the importance that these types of initiatives have in the university environment, since they represent a fundamental complement in the training of students: "to the work to peopleWe must not only we focus strictly academic o technical of his training, but also we do it in strengthen values ​​such as equality or inclusion, taking into account that they They will be the ones who will configure the advanced but sustainable society that we aspire to be.”

The event was attended by group of URJC students who have been part of the activities, among which were Andrea Bertomeu, who he highlighted that the project “It has not only been based on the learning of a technique but has also reinforced mutual learning, since it has not only been a artistic project, but it has shown that the People with disabilities can also participate in numerous activities, including artistic ones. I think that the activity 'Encounters around mud' has hit the nail on the head when it comes to join el with the inclusivity".

Also another student, Roberto Serrano, He stressed that it has been a very enriching and rewarding experiencee: “We have worked with the ceramic technique known as cell, which was originally invented to make pieces for the tea ceremony, which favors union, contact, conversation and understanding. This same It was what we felt with the people of the Raíles Foundation, which came with desire to put your hands in the mud and create, side by side, things next to us. It has been a few days of working together in which we not only created ceramics, but we give soul to each piece of clay. Some days that we will never forget and we hope they will be repeated soon.”

From this project Is attended likewise to the implementation in Spain of the international experiences of the Association Living Museum Madrid,  centered on the artistic experimentation and in the professional artistic development de people with mental illness and/or disability. Julia Morla, professor at the UCM y director of the Association, expressed that, if they have offered us something cell and shared creation, has been “the opportunity to be present in creation, to free ourselves from expectations about the result and to give ourselves the opportunity to create without judgment, being art and experience itself those that have fostered a place of relationship, respect, care y for Growth shared and inclusive.”

For its part, the professor Elena Villamarín, author of the Photo report y Visual Media (which can be seen here), explains that they try to collect those everyday moments of the workshop, in which all participants are seen maintaining a natural relationship of communication, joy and collaboration. The environment is approached from a real perspective, highlighting the normal and helps in work between students and people with certain difficulties.

La Professor Ana Balboa, who participated in the less visible part of the project but as important, cooking the pieces and leaving them ready for the process of cell, warned that the artistic expression unifies difficulties and disabilities, as When he saw all the works together on the table he could only appreciate the expressiveness, the beauty of the shapes, the volumes and the intensity of the strokes.In short, the voice de different people and personalities y no lack of capacity.

El project director, Professor Antonio Vigo, highlighted that this “It has allowed us to learn together as, Making way for diversity without prejudice, we take advantage of the different capacities and sensitivities of people who are also a part of society. Following this idea, we choose the traditional japanese technique of beginning of the 16th century cell precisely because the pieces made are from hand-made instead of produced with a lathe, which increases modeling potential y allows the spirit of the artist to speak through the work created, what attributes a spontaneous but intimate character at the same time. The experience that we have shared in our meeting around the mud has been so magic y special as is the process itself and the results of the technique used.”

From the Faculty of Arts and Humanities we congratulate all the organizers and participants who have made this project possible.