La Casa Tomada (CCS El Salvador

La Casa Tomada

Background

La Casa Tomada is a project of the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador, which began in 2012, and combines various types of management models, both European and American. In Spain, the Matadero Madrid Cultural Centre, focused on the world of contemporary creative work, opened in 2006, and set out an innovative line, providing an alternative space for groups working in the fields of drama, film and design, among other areas. Subsequently, the Tabacalera Selfgoverning Social Centre opened in the Madrid neighbourhood of Lavapiés in 2010, when Ángeles Albert was Director General for Fine Arts in the Spanish Ministry of Culture. The Tabacalera centre represented a model that was closer to the local population and to the protests being voiced by young people with few alternative channels of expression. It opened the way to a new type of public-private collaboration, in which shared management was an essential aspect of its structure. This same approach was adopted by La Casa Tomada in 2011, in line with many other initiatives of this type aroused by the 15M citizens’ movement, as part of a widespread reaction to political and social problems and deficiencies, particularly within the cultural sector. The term “private” came to be used by many entities, ranging from corporate interests to citizens’ movements, from foundations created by large corporations to neighbourhood associations or marginalised groups. However, it was the latter type of organisation that really made an impression in towns and cities, especially in less privileged neighbourhoods. The cutbacks in funding for culture encouraged a new generation of groups and communities to step in, united by common interests. In a way, the financial crisis stimulated other ways of managing culture: on the one hand, these new entities were more philanthropic and horizontal, but they were also more profitable and sustainable. Today, as can be seen in the Culture and Citizenship initiative of the Ministry of Culture, there are many such associative projects and spaces. From the rural world, to new technologies, through housing, leisure, urban vegetable plots or any other area imaginable, the paradigm of community management has become part of our DNA, not only among the new generations, but among society as a whole. La Casa Tomada then, is a child of its times. In America, one of the inspirational models that has most strongly influenced La Casa is Puntos de Cultura (Culture Points), a project aimed at enhancing community cultural activities and, more broadly, the philosophy of its creator, the Brazilian Celio Turino. Secretary of Culture for Brazil between 2004 and 2010 and promoter of the programme Community Living Culture, carried out via Culture Points. Turino visited La Casa Tomada on various occasions to provide guidance and instruction to its staff and users. Other models such as the Network of Arts and Crafts Workshops (FAROS) in Mexico, the mARTadero project in Bolivia and the Brazilian network of cultural groups Fora do Eixo, among others, were also keenly observed by La Casa Tomada in shaping its model of administration and management.

The name

The name is inspired by the short story by Julio Cortázar, Casa tomada (House taken over), a dialectic inquiry into the boundaries between “I” and “we”. The text narrates the gradual occupation of a large house by a group of entities expressed as an indefinite

plural, which take control of the house from its former inhabitants. In this tale, the author reflects the strength of “we”, as a collective that is nameless and faceless, with no recognisable subjects, which is seeking a utopian space, to be shared for the common good. In Spanish, “casa” (house, home) is a habitual term of endearment for places controlled by their inhabitants. In Latin America, it is used to provide a means of distinguishing groups of emigrants from different Spanish regions. Since those former times, and up to today’s squatter movement, the term has become part of the collective subconscious, describing a place where the inorganic energy of its components brought together a group of people with shared interests and tastes. Finally, “tomada - taken over” refers to the possibility of exercising control over culture through the community.

Born from the crisis

La Casa Tomada came into being during an international economic crisis, which had a severe impact on the Spanish economy and provoked a sharp reduction in the amount of financial assistance provided for development and culture. This cutback, which at first appeared to be an obstacle, ultimately proved to be an incentive, inspiring us to resolve the question of funding as a matter of urgent necessity. As a major point of reference in the cultural life of the country, the Cultural Centre of Spain in El Salvador offered such a broad range of activities and invited so many groups to participate that a single building was not enough for everything to take place simultaneously. The dimensions and extent of its activities meant that additional space for growth was essential. However, just when this need for more space became starkly apparent, the financial crisis made any idea of the Centre’s expansion impossible at that time. In addition, the Centre had various resources that were under-utilised, such as radio recording and transmitting equipment, a sound studio and audiovisual editing facilities, all of which needed their own space. The Centre was then using the same space for exhibitions, concerts, drama and conferences. In view of the impossibility of physical expansion, it sought alternative possibilities, in those times of crisis.

The brand identity

La Casa Tomada is an attempt to orchestrate a body of individual volitions to generate a cultural ecosystem. Like the sun and the planets, diverse collectives gravitate around the common good. The Assembly is an organic entity that defines, reconciles and guides the coexistence, survival, communication and social and cultural action of the communities and of “La Casa”. There are two levels of organisation: on the first, resident and itinerant groups are governed by a model of self-management; on the second, the groups form an alliance, for the common good, collaborating in the operation of La Casa and creating a model of group cohesion within an environment of shared knowledge. The products and services of La Casa have great symbolic value and precise quantitative validity. However, the impact generated and the value provided cannot easily be measured by traditional means. Identifying the agents, processes and benefits involved in the creative economy is both complex and diffuse, which makes it a challenge to obtain data giving a definitive understanding of the impact produced. The management philosophy of La Casa generates value in ways that go beyond the merely monetary, based on the economics of exchange, on a philosophy in which barter, trust in human relationships and creative freedom play a major role. Among its great achievements, La Casa Tomada recognises and acknowledges art and culture as a way of life, especially in its incursions into territories where the cultural sector does not often appear as a dynamic axis of the economy. Since it was founded, La Casa has demonstrated the potential of creative economies, hosting a broad range of initiatives arising from the talents of artists and creators. This potential has been developed with the facilities provided by an integrated ecosystem of connections that foster the strengthening of collaborative relationships. La Casa Tomada has generated cultural dynamics that can be replicated in other spaces, adapted according to context and local identity, to the dynamics of the community, to idiosyncrasies and to the circumstances of time and space.

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1. The coffee shop of La Casa Tomada

2. Co-working space in La Casa Tomada

The community management model

Community cultural management is based on the idea that the group should be the main protagonist, and that participation, democratisation, creativity, productivity, circulation and the access to and consumption of culture should all be encouraged. For this purpose, the methods used are rooted in proximity and in the capacity for self-managed development. As Celio Turino observes, culture must be idiosyncratic, with local roots. Therefore, cultural centres must support the cultural manifestations of their surroundings. The task of the community cultural manager is to foster initiatives, report on the possibilities and potential of the area, generate ideas, raise questions, foster dialogue and build a sense of self esteem and self sufficiency in the community. The inclusive action taken by La Casa promotes networking, collaborative culture, the construction of collective knowledge, the exchange of experiences, peer work and intergenerational dialogue. Traditional knowledge may share the space with avant-garde ideas, an aesthetic experience may share space with a technological one. This model allows communities that had become invisible and groups lacking support to channel their work and to find a new voice of their own, a new way to build and participate in public affairs and political decision making. The projects of La Casa establish synergies among spaces, provide new forums and opportunities, facilitate visibility and strengthen the groups involved. The organisational model of La Casa Tomada is an organic one, which has evolved, adapting to reality and the lessons learnt. Its governing body, termed The Assembly, is composed of the users of La Casa. It distributes tasks, sets out road maps, generates objectives, determines management policies and in general guides the actions of La Casa. The Assembly is responsive, encourages participation and is responsible for all the actions taken in La Casa. Its proposals are based on experience, and solutions are reached through consensus, solidarity, critique and purposeful initiatives. Since 2013, La Casa Tomada has had Committees for Cultural Action, for Visual Arts,

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for Communications, for Coexistence and for Management and Sustainability, each composed of inhabitants and ‘nomads’ of La Casa, but not necessarily by all those who make up the Assembly. The assembly model of La Casa is employed continually. The general goal is for an assembly to be held once monthly, with the participation of all inhabitants and nomads. The different committees meet according to their specific needs and functions, at a frequency that varies from once a week to once a month. An interesting question that arose from this situation was that of the management model. Cultural spaces, due to their dimensions and the nature of the work performed, require specialist personnel, and appropriate maintenance of their equipment and facilities. Institutionally, it was difficult to meet this need, and so a collective model of management model was also essential, so that those who made use of the space should provide corresponding support. The political model of administration of La Casa Tomada, from its conception as a cultural space, is perhaps one of the most interesting contributions of the entire experience. This type of management required us to cease to be dependent on the Cultural Centre, so that the Assembly could be autonomous in its decisions, as the sovereign governing body of La Casa. The transfer of responsibility for the sustainability of the space to citizens and groups, naturally, meant they had to have decision-making capabilities, i.e., empowerment.

Actors

To reflect the different types of persons involved in its use, La Casa Tomada created its own taxonomy of ‘actors’: • Inhabitants are people or groups that manage and administer La Casa as their own shared space. They generate their own, educational, creative and/or productive activities, to carry out their own tasks.

They can share the space with other groups or people with similar activities, to contribute to the sustainability of La Casa. By making use of a space, the inhabitants acquire the responsibility to actively participate in the collaborative management of La

Casa Tomada, through participation in the Assembly and in the work committees. • Nomads are people or groups that use a common space of La Casa Tomada more or less frequently to carry out their own activities. They can actively participate in the collaborative management of La

Casa Tomada or through the Assembly and the committees, or through cultural production in the common spaces of La Casa, and make a financial contribution to collective sustainability. • Casanauts are cultural agents who believe in the collaborative philosophy of La Casa Tomada, which they have experienced or conceptualised in other areas of the world of collective management. They maintain contact with the Assembly from a distance and sometimes collaborate by sharing knowledge, promoting, reviewing and evaluating processes, building bridges between different standpoints, and contributing to the growth and impact of this form of collective management. • Friends are individuals, institutions and groups who do not always need a physical space in which to carry out activities in La Casa Tomada, but who wish to contribute generously to its growth, facilitating new alliances, as ambassadors of its philosophy and attracting new users and potential allies. Such friends include social and collaborative entities, private companies, philanthropists and opinion formers. • Members of the public are supporters of the initiative and users of its resources and facilities.

The spaces

When it first started, La Casa Tomada did not have fixed spaces assigned for its activities, but grew into its space naturally and organically, with the arrival of different groups. Currently, it is home to sixteen different groups. Some of its spaces have been converted, others have disappeared, and new ones have been created. In addition to the spaces managed by groups, there are areas common to all, such as the garden, the concert hall, the exhibition spaces and the rehearsal room. Of the self-managed spaces, special mention should be made of the hub, which not only provides a place in which to work and share with others, but also fosters creative industry by incubating social and cultural ventures, projects seeking economic and social change. Another space, the digital manufacturing laboratory, is equipped with advanced technological equipment such as 3D

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5. Products in the shop of La Casa Tomada

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7. Adult’s choir of La Casa Tomada

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printers, laser cutters and Arduino processors, which enable entrepreneurs and artists to experiment and create prototypes.

Interaction and radiation

La Casa Tomada has received substantial support from the European Union for its project Culture for all, Building new worlds. This funding enabled us not only to acquire equipment and human resources but also to invest in the organisation and administration of La Casa and to extend our cultural action further afield. The implementation of this project reinforced La Casa internally and at the same time allowed it to work in Colonia de San Benito, an affluent neighbourhood, and also in Colonia de Las Palmas, an inner-city borough with precarious services, both facilitating access to culture and the services of La Casa, and also enabling us to participate in cultural initiatives by groups such as Vacilarte. This extension

of cultural action into a neighbouring public space has strengthened the social fabric of relevant actors in the area, such as galleries, cultural centres and concert halls, thus complying with Sustainable Development Goal No. 11 in the 2030 Agenda, which refers to achieving sustainable cities and communities.

A culture of peace

For many years, El Salvador has undergone the social scourge of violence and the phenomenon of the maras (street gangs). La Casa Tomada intends to continue providing a neutral space for conciliation, seeking to foster coexistence, democratisation and social peace, through culture.

Project of the Cultural Centre of Spain in the City of Mexico in collaboration with Ateneo Español en México and Fundación Telefónica