Searching for Leo

Creative uses of ‘the archive’ in a place of remembering and forgetting
People walking in a large empty plaza in the mountains under a clear sky in black and white
Project title: Searching for Leo. Creative uses of ‘the archive’ in a place of remembering and forgetting.
Funding body: AHRC Impact Acceleration Account – Impact Initiation Fund and Arts Council England – Developing your Creative Practice fund
Project duration: November 2023 – November 2025 
University of Plymouth PI: Inés Rae  
Project partners: Marcelino Altuna (Director, Photomuseum Zarautz); Amagoia Gurrutxaga Uranga (Zarautz activist grassroots memory project); Maddi Elorza Insausti (Universidad de Pais Vasco)
 
This research initiative delves into Spain’s collective memory, aiming to connect the past, present, and future through collaborative workshops with Basque institutions. Starting with a grassroots memory project in Zarautz, this pilot initiative will explore methods and strategies for fostering dialogue and understanding among diverse groups. The long-term goal is to develop creative approaches that unite people with differing opinions, encouraging mutual listening and recognising multiple sides of historical narratives.
 

Research focus

The research investigates the intricate relationship between memory, archives, and autoethnographic practices, particularly in the context of the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). It reflects on Spain’s period of history following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. The transition from dictatorship to democracy was marked by the 'Pact of Forgetting' in 1977, which aimed to prevent accountability for past crimes and led to altered historical narratives. 
This project examines how societies cope with atrocity and the role of stories and photographs in healing divided communities. By examining personal and national histories, the project addresses how trauma is processed at individual and societal levels. The methodologies developed here have broader applications, potentially benefitting other communities and civic groups in understanding personal and collective histories through archival interpretation. 
Collage of photographs and documents from the Spanish Civil War
Searching for Leo

The project is inspired by the discovery that my grandfather was a photographer for the Nationalist Propaganda division during the Spanish Civil War. This personal connection aims to broaden the understanding of how families and communities reconcile with past tensions in a context where forgetting has been predominant. The prevalence of absence, gaps, and silence in these stories often leads to reconstructed memories, altering the true historical narrative.

Inés RaeMs Inés Rae
Lecturer in Media Arts

 

Place-based research and participant engagement

This project builds on cross-disciplinary, place-based participant engagement methods, expanding upon autoethnography and archive thinking. By holding at least two workshops, we aim to trial creative methods of knowledge construction and develop relationships with cultural organisations interested in supporting communities in addressing deeply held trauma.
The pilot workshops will culminate in an exhibition and a bookwork addressing memory reconstruction through storytelling and photography. These outcomes will demonstrate creative responses to historical memory, foster new knowledge construction methods, and strengthen community capacity to address trauma. 
This project seeks to repair connections between community members using family history and collective memories gathered through collaboration with local grassroots activist groups and historians. Established connections in San Sebastian from previous research will support the pilot project's development, with potential applications in other parts of Spain.
 

Project methodologies and timeline

A project blog will enable participants to gather and share information and responses. Workshops will utilise autoethnography, memoirs, storytelling, photographs, and collage to foster greater tolerance among divided groups, bringing older and younger generations together to heal and explore the relationship between past, present, and future. 

Project timeline

Phase 1
  • Consult with partners/stakeholders in Spain on the historical memory law's impact on Basque communities.
  • Conduct internet research to locate further examples of Savignac’s archive and other relevant images.
  • Complete ethics application to protect all participants.
  • Plan travel to San Sebastian and Bilbao for pilot workshops.
Phase 2
  • Plan workshop materials in consultation with collaborators, local communities, and civic groups.
Phase 3
  • Travel to research current responses to the historical memory law in the Basque region.
  • Develop and conduct pilot workshops in Zarautz/San Sebastian and Bilbao, aiming to deliver two workshops with different age groups, either in Photomuseum Zarautz or on the proposed blog space.
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