Brieven uit Spanje /Cartas de España

Cartas desde España. Siguiendo el rastro de la comunidad española en Breda
Carme Nogueira y Elena Prado

August the1st to September 20th, 2020

Thanks to the invitation of Witte Rook and Stedelijk Museum Breda, the Spanish artists Carme Nogueira and Elena Prado have conducted a two-month investigation in the Spanish community established in West Brabant since the early 1960s. The results of this investigation was presented in Next ( Stedelijk Museum Breda) as an living archive, which was changing and expanding every week.

A large number of Spanish workers arrived in the Netherlands in 1961 after an agreement between the Dutch and Spanish governments under the Franco regime. Until 1971, the Spanish workers werte the largest group of immigrants established in the Netherlands. Their arrival brings social developments related to immigration and family law, among other things. However, the information that we can find in the national and local archives is very scarce.

Spaniards also settle in Breda to work in factories like Etna and Hero. Nogueira and Prado approach the Spanish community in the city as a starting point to initiate a dialogue about the many problems that underlie the Spanish migratory flow.
This forgotten history is made visible by the hand of the information found: images, objects and personal stories.

Issues that were already there at that time, such as citizenship, identity and minorities, are still relevant today.

Thanks to: all providers, the contributions of the Spanish community, especially Carmen Herrera and María Muñoz (Instituto Cervantes).

With the support of the Living Lab Internationalization Province of North Brabant.