Oviedo 2031 launches Huellas, a collaborative photography and neighbourhood memory project

The candidacy of Oviedo for European Capital of Culture 2031 has launched Huellas, a creative laboratory focused on collaborative photography and collective memory as part of Puxa el Barrio, the programme designed to bring artistic creation and cultural participation processes to municipal community centres.

The initiative is being developed simultaneously at the Buenavista and La Corredoria community centres and proposes the use of photography as a tool for personal expression, artistic creation and the reconstruction of everyday stories that shape the identity of Oviedo’s neighbourhoods.

Huellas is led by photographers and artistic mediators Irma Collin and Ainhoa Valle, professionals specialised in participatory photography and community-based creative processes linked to collective memory and cultural mediation.

Throughout several sessions, participants will work on the recovery, analysis and reinterpretation of family photographs and personal archives connected to their neighbourhoods. Through collaborative and creative dynamics, the project aims to bring culture and contemporary artistic creation closer to local community spaces, generating opportunities for encounter, exchange and participation.

“The idea is to convey to participants that culture does not only happen in museums; it is also present in everyday life and can help strengthen community bonds,” explains Pepe Mompeán, general coordinator of Oviedo 2031.

Huellas forms part of Puxa el Barrio, a programme through which the candidacy seeks to transform community centres into active spaces for creation, mediation and cultural coexistence. The initiative highlights culture as a tool for social cohesion, civic participation and collective construction rooted in neighbourhood life.

“The project revolves around three key ideas: memory, photography and neighbourhood. The underlying idea is to understand that culture is transversal and also takes place in neighbourhoods and community centres, with a very important intergenerational dimension. We are gathering memories, family albums and personal archives from local residents in order to focus on those small everyday stories which, in the end, are the ones that tell a much bigger story,” says Zoe López Mediero, co-artistic director of the candidacy.

Among the aims of Huellas are the recovery of Oviedo’s visual memory, the promotion of intergenerational dialogue, the creation of inclusive and diverse narratives and the strengthening of social cohesion through culture.

In addition to the in-person sessions, the programme will continue in September with the development and production of a final exhibition showcasing part of the work created during the process.