Concepción Feminist Mural

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Panoramic view of the mural in the Municipal Sports Centre in the La Concepción neighbourhood.

The Concepción feminist mural is a mural painting entitled "La unión hace la fuerza" ("Unity is strength") by the Spanish collective Unlogic Crew on the exterior wall of the municipal sports centre in the Concepción neighbourhood of Madrid at Calle José del Hierro nº5.[1] The project was selected in 2018 through a consultation on Decide Madrid and its design was developed with the participation of the neighbourhood of the district of Ciudad Lineal.[2]

History[edit]

In May 2018, La Mesa de Igualdad y Diversidad through the Permanent Commission of the Local Forum of the district of Ciudad Lineal made proposal no. 2018/444890 to create a pictorial mural against male violence at the entrance to the sports centre in the neighbourhood of La Concepción. Once the plenary session was over, the proposal was included in the project Compartiendo Muros (Sharing Walls) of the Madrid City Council's Department of Culture and Sports.

After going through a public consultation through the municipal portal for citizen participation Decide Madrid, where the project "Unity is strength " was presented, it was decided to award the mural to the art collective Unlogic Crew.

The mural, with the slogan 'Capabilities don't depend on your gender', was painted between 13 and 26 September, leaving the last three days for any neighbourhood resident to participate in its completion.

Attempted elimination and public reaction[edit]

In January 2021, the far-right political party Vox asked the Ciudad Lineal Municipal District Council to erase the mural because of its "political message".[3][4] The proposal, which was approved on 21 January 2021 by the Partido Popular and Ciudadanos, who have been governing in coalition since 2019 in the Madrid City Council thanks to the support of Vox, included the replacement of the mural "with one dedicated to sportsmen and sportswomen and which does not contain any political message, only a sporting one".[5][6]

The reaction of neighbourhood associations such as Valle Inclán de Prosperidad, Sol de la Conce, Asociación Vecinal de Quintana or the Asociaciones de Madres y Padres de Alumnos (AMPAs) of the schools Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, Carlos V, México, San Benito, Leopoldo Alas, Miguel Blasco Vilatela, San Juan Bosco, San Juan Bautista and Colegio Cultural Elfo was to reject the removal of this mural.[7] The political parties Más Madrid, Podemos, PSOE and Izquierda Unida also opposed the decision.[8]

Vox has carried out similar procedures to remove other left-wing symbols in the city of Madrid. At the beginning of 2021, the Carabanchel Municipal District Council debated the removal of the mural in homage to the 15-M movement in the Plaza de Oporto, although in this case the proposal did not succeed due to the abstention of Ciudadanos. Also, at the end of 2020, it managed to have the plaque dedicated to the politician and trade unionist Francisco Largo Caballero in the Plaza de Chamberí removed.

Neighbourhood organisations and activists linked to the neighbourhood and citizen initiatives of this type launched a social media campaign with the hashtags #ElMuralNoSeToca and #ElMuralSeQueda. In addition, a petition was created on Change.org calling for the mural not to be erased,[9] which by Monday 25 January had 50,000 signatures. Apart from the digital actions, on 24 January 2021, various neighbourhood groups and activists in Madrid held a rally in front of the mural in protest at its future removal.[10]

The attempted removal was covered by the international press, such as the British newspaper The Guardian, which called it a "cultural war",[11] and was also criticised by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.[12] Finally, on 26 January, the eight councillors of the Ciudadanos municipal group supported an emergency motion presented by Más Madrid to preserve the feminist mural.[13][14]

Vandalisation of the mural[edit]

vandalization of the feminist mural in barrio de la concepcion the 08th of March 2021

In the early hours of 8 March 2021, in commemoration of International Women's Day, the mural was vandalised by extreme right-wing groups who erased the message and covered the faces of the 15 women with black paint, also using banners that read 'Terrorist', 'Abortionist' and 'Communist'.[15][16][17] Madrid City Council condemned the attack on the work and pledged to restore the mural.[18]

Replicas[edit]

As a result of the attacks and attempts to destroy the mural, replicas have been made as a form of protest and support. A replica has been made in a secondary school in Puente Genil (Córdoba),[19] another in Alcalá de Henares (commissioned by the local council) and another in Getafe Central Station. The latter two have also been vandalised.[20][21]

Women represented[edit]

In the mural, 15 women were depicted:[22]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Compartiendo muros en Ciudad Lineal". Decide Madrid.
  2. ^ "Mural pictórico en contra de la violencia machista".
  3. ^ "El Ayuntamiento de Madrid borrará un mural feminista de un polideportivo a propuesta de Vox". ElDiario.es. Europa Press. January 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "Vox consigue que se borre el mural feminista del polideportivo de La Conce con el apoyo en el Pleno de PP y Cs". Europa Press. January 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "Vox consigue borrar un mural feminista de un polideportivo de Madrid". Última Hora. January 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "El Ayuntamiento de Madrid borrará un mural feminista a petición de Vox". www.elsaltodiario.com.
  7. ^ Ugarte, Idoia (January 22, 2021). "Lucha vecinal en Ciudad Lineal en defensa de un mural feminista". EL PAÍS.
  8. ^ "IU Madrid Ciudad denuncia la intención de destruir el mural feminista del Polideportivo La Concepción por el Ayuntamiento de Madrid". January 24, 2021.
  9. ^ "Miles de firmas en pocos días se suman en Change a la protesta por el borrado del mural feminista de Madrid". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias. January 22, 2021.
  10. ^ "Una concentración ciudadana reclamará este domingo a la Junta el mantenimiento del mural feminista de La Concepción". La Vanguardia. January 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Mural in Madrid that celebrates women pitched into Spain's culture wars". the Guardian. January 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Pedro Sánchez ataca al 'trío de Colón' por borrar un mural feminista por ser un acto sin razón aunque también sin efecto". Europa Press. January 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Mendoza, Sofía Pérez (January 26, 2021). "A Almeida se le viene encima un mural feminista". ElDiario.es.
  14. ^ "Madrid feminist mural saved from removal attempt by far right". the Guardian. January 26, 2021.
  15. ^ "El mural feminista de Ciudad Lineal amanece vandalizado y la sede de Podemos, con pintadas". www.elconfidencial.com. March 8, 2021.
  16. ^ "Qué es Revolutio, el grupo que ha vandalizado el mural feminista de Ciudad Lineal". www.20minutos.es - Últimas Noticias. March 8, 2021.
  17. ^ Pereda, Olga (March 8, 2021). "Atacan el mural feminista de Ciudad Lineal en pleno 8-M". elperiodico.
  18. ^ Cantón, Miguel (March 8, 2021). "Destrozado el mural feminista de Ciudad Lineal de Madrid". EL PAÍS.
  19. ^ Sánchez, Nacho (February 4, 2021). "El mural feminista se multiplica". EL PAÍS.
  20. ^ "Un mural feminista en Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) amanece vandalizado 24 horas antes del 8M". ElDiario.es. March 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "En Getafe también vandalizan el mural feminista". www.elsaltodiario.com.
  22. ^ "¿Quiénes son y qué hicieron las mujeres que el Ayuntamiento de Madrid pretende borrar?". El HuffPost. January 24, 2021.

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