Participatory workshop on the creation of a cartography of the Anthropocene of Eastern Asturias.
This workshop on mapping the Anthropocene is an extension of the exploratory research workshop Asturias, de paraíso natural a refugio climático that took place in October 2023 with several departments of the University of Oviedo and other experts organised by Laboral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial.
The starting point of this complementary research workshop is the mapping of environmental conflicts, understood as nodal points of the transformations of the Anthropocene. In order to reach a deeper understanding of these conflicts, the workshop aims to bring together academics in the fields of ecology, geography, and others, as well as activists and local communities who are willing to engage in participatory mapping.
The research area focuses on eastern Asturias, from the western massif of the Picos de Europa, perpendicular to Cangas de Onís to the coast near Ribadesella – an area chosen transversally for its diversity of landscape and presence of known conflicts such as tourism and environment, wildlife and agriculture.
During the workshop, participants will be asked to identify, locate and motivate various environmental conflicts in groups on a map. The map will then be finalised by the organiser and presented in a small publication.
Methodology
The workshop consists of a five-hour working day in which participants from different backgrounds come together to collectively map around the theme “Eastern Asturias, a Cartography of the Anthropocene”. The methodology of this workshop is inspired by the cartographies of hackitectura.net (2003-2010), Iconoclasistas (2016), and Feral Atlas (2020).
First, there is an introduction to the theme and the area to be explored, where the working tools and layers of analysis are presented. Then, participants start by identifying and locating environmental conflicts in the research area printed in large format. In doing so, they are free to create new layers, (re)define zones and apply them to the map. Afterwards, participants share their results and a discussion ensues. From there, the main points will be taken up and the cartographic material will be compiled into a synthesis map.
Subsequently, the organiser will process the knowledge and cartographic material produced into a final map that will be shared with all participants.
Activity promoted and financed by the Government of the Principality of Asturias.
