They are already 10,000 photographs. And those who will arrive. The objective is to rescue them, but above all your backup. The process is long and tedious, but the only objective is to restore part of their family memory to people who have lost everything.
From the Vice-Rectorate of Culture and Society, in collaboration with the Laboratory for Analysis and Diagnosis of Works of Art from the University of Valencia (UV), a campaign was launched collection of damaged family photographs and albums due to recent flooding in DANA.
In a completely altruistic manner, the entity made itself available to society and the people concerned to, at least, try to recover their memories. This goes beyond the physical backup of an album or portrait; For many, these objects have a incalculable sentimental value.
The initiative – launched a few days after the tragedy – was so successful that they hope to raise up to 30,000 images. assures him Marisa Vázquez de Agredosdirector of Cultural heritage of UV, in EL ESPAÑOL.
“We don’t stop. We work 18 hours a day and even until 10 p.m. More and more calls come to us from those affected,” explains the recovery expert. He said there could be up to 700 images of each family involved.
The interdisciplinary team has 12 people including restorers, curators and volunteer experts. The basic core changes depending on the needs of the day. “It’s like a field laboratory. Every day comes a army of professionals“explains Vázquez de Agredos.
Photographs damaged by mud in Picanya (Valencia). Europa Press / Robert Solsona
After the tragedy, the educational establishment communicated the following: “We know that the priorities at this time, given the catastrophic situation in the province of Valencia, focus on personal well-being and support for infrastructure and basic needs of families. , those affected also face the pain of losing memories“.
“This heritage, irreplaceablewill be treated and intervened to restore it to a good state of conservation which promotes its preservation and perpetuation over time” added the UV.
For this reason, and wherever possible, the university asked families not to get rid of these photographs, even if they showed “a high degree of deterioration.”
“It is important that they are preserved and contacted by email with the Heritage Space of the University of Valencia. patrimoni.cultural@uv.es or by phone 686788721“, they report from UV.
In Vicente’s father’s house, Aldaïaold photographs appeared buried under mud in which the faces of the people depicted were barely recognizable. Some seemed better preserved than others, but the water took away their bright color with it.
Volunteers collected the pieces before throwing them in the trash and carefully placed them in a safe place. “I won’t be able to do much, but leave them aside,” Vicente commented.
In this regard, Vázquez de Agredos points out that the older the photo, the more resistant it is to water and mud. “It’s different to recover an image from 1910, 1950 and 1990. Black and white snapshots are better preservedwhile the color is diluted,” he emphasizes.
DANA, in the archives
On the other hand, the University of Valencia invited the university community to develop a documentary repository on the effects of DANA.
This time it was Faculty of Social Sciences which launched an initiative aimed at creating a repository on the tragedy of October 29 in Valencia and its repercussions on the affected populations.
The project is open to the collaboration of students, teaching and research staff, research staff in training and technical staff from administration and services so that they can contribute material allowing the development and expansion of the repository.
Photographs and personal documents covered in mud in Sedaví, Valencia. Efe/Ana Escobar
“We hope it will serve as a tool to rethinking both structural social processes in which Valencian society is immersed (mobility, urban planning, employment and residence, relationship between the capital and the metropolitan area), as well as think about natural disaster managementthe associated political processes, the recovery of people, their living, housing and working conditions, public services (education, health…), among others”, explains the dean of the faculty, Elena Mut.
The project was structured in three phases. In the first, a website has been activated on which digital documents (videos, audios, photos…) can be downloaded in any format. It will be taken as starting point October 29, 2024.
This would be the documentation phase. In order not to hinder the work of the volunteers, certain rules have been stipulated to follow and can be read on the activated website.
The second is the analysis phase. The repository, the consultation of which will be free, will be made available to the community of researchers, both at UV and in other institutions, via the Social laboratory– Laboratory of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
In a third phase, the publication of documents having used this repository is envisaged, either in full text, or in the form of links to publications, depending on the publication rights.
This includes the documentaries and audiovisual and graphic materialsproduct of the repository query, as well as the research material (TFG, TFM, research work or doctoral theses).
