Nowadays, we have increasingly come to view globalisation as a homogenising force threatening cultural diversity and minority groups. However, we have equated globalisation and its impact with capitalism, seeing it as a recent threat that rose with the expansion of trade.
But we forget that globalisation is not a modern phenomena, and that its meaning goes far beyond trade. To view “culture” as a stagnant entity to be protected from these forces rejects the fundamentals of history. Delving into the discourse of globalisation vs. culture, I wish to reclaim globalisation’s true value: its ability to enrich culture, not destroy it, through the free movement and exchange of people and knowledge. I believe that, by embracing the cultural hybridity continuously underlying our history, we’ll be best able to create new value in today’s highly globalised world.
In Spain, this hybridity has been consistently denied throughout time. Through processes like that of de-africanisation, we have institutionally rejected important minorities and their influence on Spain’s identity, resulting in a collective ignorance that reinforces established cliches and increases polarisation, xenophobia and scepticism towards these groups.
Through a city route highlighting the silenced influences of our culture, an event and an aiding campaign, I aim to not only deconstruct the current Spanish imaginarium, but also bring about curiosity in the viewer towards the side of Spain they haven’t been taught. A historical celebration that encourages the viewer to question their own identity.