The Culture Councillor's Visit

The meeting of the Commission of Directors of the mNACTEC Regional System held on 21 st March coincided with the visit of the Media and Culture Councillor to mNACTEC's main Terrassa site, where he presided over the signing of the agreement between the museum and the Catalan Industrial Tourism Network (XATIC) aimed at advancing the Industrial Tourism Galvanisation Plan. Councillor Joan Manuel Tresserras indicated the need for the mNACTEC Regional System to share activities with the productive subsector of each museum because, until now, despite the industrial character of the country, there had not been any major contribution to the museums from the private sector.

Five New Industrial Sectors Link to the System

At the meeting the Commission of Directors were introduced to the directors and those in charge of the new centres that the mNACTEC Management Council had accepted into the Regional System. The majority were characterised by their rural location, away from the country's large urban centres and distinguished by their specific value in the area of industrial heritage. For the Regional System, then, numerical growth does not only mean including new centres in the overall organisation and promoting its heritage, it also signifies the will to strengthen local initiatives.
The Capdella Hydroelectric Power Station (Pallars Jussà) explains the history of the station from its inception until it came on stream in 1914: in this way it stands as homage to the 4,000 people who worked there. “La Rajoleta” at Esplugues de Llobregat (Baix Llobregat) displays the “Salvador Miquel” collection of decorative tiles that allows it to trace the history of Catalan decorative tiles and exhibits the kilns from the old Pujol i Bausis modernist factory. Gerri de la Sal (Pallars Sobirà) has a heritage focused on the “Salines” (salt mines), that provides a means of telling the story of one part of the restored salt mines. The Cardona Salt Mountain Cultural Park , located in the old Nieves mine buildings, offers a chance to discover the unique natural and mineral heritage of the Cardona salt deposits and the way man has used them from Neolithic times to the present day. The Aran Valley Victòria Mine opened to the public in 2004; visits are planned like a hiking trail, where the landscape and environment complement the attractions provided by the mineral exploitation itself.

“The Colour of Memories. Photographic Cameras over the Years”, which opened on 19 th April at the National Museum of Science and Technology (mNACTEC), covers the social and technical development of photographic cameras.
The exhibition allows the visitor to take a journey, first in black and white and later in colour, through history and memory. On the one hand, the exhibition allows the visitor to discover how, from the second half of the 19 th century, photography took off and went from the exclusive tool of inventors and experimenters to being a working tool for portraitists and landscape photographers, and how, little by little, it found a place in the lives of ordinary people. On the other hand, it brings us into contact with the equipment that has formed and continues to form part of our history, machines that have allowed us to record fragments of our lives; fragments that have ended up as part of our memory.
The camera is practically an item of clothing. Even to the extent that devices to take photographs have been put into mobile telephones and PDAs. These, however, are only the latest images in a history that began 168 years ago. The exhibition is a never-before-seen journey that explains the technical development of photographic equipment from its first appearance, with Daguerre in 1839, until the latest digital cameras.

More than two hundred cameras from all periods are on display, they come from the museum's photographic collection (mainly based on the Duran collection acquired by Kodak and later donated to the museum) and private donations from institutions and companies alike.

November 2006 saw the announcement of collaboration between the Paper Mill Museum and the New York-based production company “Vinestreetworks” to make a documentary about paper production (scheduled for 2008). More recently, the car manufacturer Nissan chose the same location to present its new car, Qashqai, to the specialist international press.
In this latter case, however, the initiative was the result of a new financing policy at the Paper Mill Museum . The hire of different museum spaces is a new method of contributing to raising part of the museum's running costs. With an annual budget of €255,000 it is one of the few museums in Catalonia that manages to cover 80% of its costs through its own resources. The financial assistance of various bodies covers the remaining 20%. The greater part of the budget goes on salaries for the 13 members of staff.

The museum's new self-financing strategy means looking for new sponsors that, at the same time as representing an important financial contribution, will have significant international resonance.

The Nissan promotion took place over 19 days last February and was attended by 900 journalists from all over the world who came to see the new vehicle. Starting at the airport they tried out the car on a route that took them to the museum where they visited a private exhibition about the new model.

Since March, following the launch of the Vilanova i la Geltrú Railway Museum's new audiovisual programme, the new digital projection system has been broadcasting a varied programme related to the train world and has allowed various, specialist cinema seasons to be held there.
Under the title Cinematren a season of documentaries, shorts and other technical films has been shown, including some previously unseen footage like: Spanish Steam Locomotives –from the 1940s– and Talgo 2006 . The showings took place one Saturday a month (21 st April, 26 th May and 16 th June) in the museum's Audiovisual Room with the aim of bringing the museum library's audiovisual archive to the attention of railway enthusiasts and the general public. The activity was designed jointly with the Federació Catalana d'Amics del Ferrocarril (Catalan Federation of Friends of the Railway). For more information please visit the museum's website: http://www.ffe.es/vilanova

On 18 th May, coinciding with International Museum Day, the Premià de Mar Textile Printing Museum opened the second phase of its permanent exhibition, focused on the “Chemistry of Colour”.
Phase 1 opened in July 2005 with an exhibition dedicated to the history of textile printing. The new exhibition shows the chemistry of colours in a kitchen or laboratory of natural and synthetic colourants. The two remaining phases will follow the processes, techniques and machinery used in the industry. Alongside these exhibits a gallery of samples and original designs will offer a stylised view of the industry, with works from each period that link print design to the artistic trends of the time. The exhibition will conclude with a window onto the future of textile printing by displaying the latest technical innovations

Last February the Manlleu town council approved the declaration of the Manlleu Industrial Canal as a cultural property of local interest.
The canal, built between 1841 and 1848, runs parallel to the Ter's waterfront for a length of 1,900m with an average width of 6.5m, as it passes through the town. Seven textile factories and a flour mill were built along its length.
Nowadays, despite the disappearance of the main, original factories, the canal is undergoing a process of rehabilitation that, thanks to its involvement in emblematic areas like allotments, the area where people used to do their washing and Can Sanglas , is transforming it into an active asset of the industrial heritage of Manlleu, of the whole of the mid-Ter and of the first industrialisation to take place in Catalonia.
The Ter Industrial Museum actively promotes the restoration of the whole industrial canal for heritage reasons and organises guided tours of its most important features.

On 18 th May, as part of International Museum Day , aside from the open day normally offered to mark this event, the museum held a special event for all those who came to the centre in Vilanova. First, the latest renovations of the museum's collection were announced and, then, the Industrial Heritage Railway Inventory of Catalonia was presented to the public. Eusebi Casanelles, Director of the National Science and Technology Museum's Regional System, and Carlos Zapatero, Managing Director of the Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (Spanish Railways Foundation), the museums managing body, took part in the event.

At the end of 1996 the Castelló d'Empúries town council acquired the flour mill facility with a commitment to turn it into an ecomuseum. It was opened on 26th March 1997 , the same year it joined the National Museum of Science and Technology's Regional System. Ten years later, things have come a long way and, little by little, the idea of the initial project has been turned into reality. Today we have a renovated building, a productive museum space, that speaks for itself –all of which reinforces our function as a museum facility.
This year, 2007, a whole series of activities and events have been programmed to mark the museum's tenth anniversary, amongst them the carrying out of phase 2 of the building's renovation and its entry into the Catalan Museums register.

Close to a year ago the director of the Salvador Claret Classic Car Collection joined the Spanish Federation of Classic Cars and thanks, in large measure, to his initiative and enthusiasm, this year the first automobile heritage weekend will be staged. The original idea comes from similar initiatives that have been held for some time (very successfully) in other European countries, like France and Germany , with the aim of benefiting the conservation and promotion of classic cars.
The weekend will take place on 15 th -16 th September and hopes to involve all the bodies nationwide related to automobile history. The aim is to raise and increase awareness of automobile heritage in Spain

For more information:
Spanish Vintage Car Foundation, http://www.feva.com.es/
Salvador Claret Classic car Collection, http://www.museuautomobilsclaret.com/

From 1 st April to 30 th September 2007 two temporary exhibitions that let visitors immerse themselves in the Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park can be seen at the museum in Castellar de n'Hug. Thanks to Pieces of the Park and Bats in the Natural Park the programme of activities at the former Asland cement factory has been reinvigorated and made more varied.
In addition, Kent Diebolt, founder of “Vertical Access” (a company dedicated to the renovation and restoration of numerous public buildings in New York ) visited the old cement factory at Clot del Moro between 2 nd and 4 th April. Diebolt openly expressed his desire to take an active part in the restoration work taking place at the former Asland cement factory at Castellar de n'Hug.

On 16 th June, and as on every Saturday before St John's Day each year since 2001, the Llofriu Cork Stripping Festival took place. The festival began early in the morning with a popular walk from the Jofra fountain to Llofriu, taking in the Morena quarry, the Montras mines, the viewing point and the Teula fountain on the way. There were cork-stripping demonstrations, talks about the management of the cork trees, a fideuada (a community meal featuring a popular noodle-like pasta dish), dramatised poetry readings, a photography competition and many other activities.
The festival's aim is to popularise a distinctive, traditional activity and promote the town of Llofriu .