• MAR, a platform for women artists from rural Aragon, is born.
• This is a LEADER cooperation project financed by the 2014-2020 Rural Development Program of Aragon

MAR is a platform promoted by Concilia , an inter-territorial cooperation project that works to promote the socio-labor integration of women in rural areas. Concilia operates in 13 Aragonese regions (Jacetania, Alto Gállego, Hoya de Huesca, Somontano, Cinca Medio, La Litera, Bajo Cinca, and Los Monegros in Huesca ; Tarazona-Moncayo, Campo de Borja, and Belchite in Zaragoza ; and Gúdar-Javalambre and Maestrazgo in Teruel ). MAR is managed by the ARTmosfera Cultural Association (Monegros Region, Aragon).

Regional scope

To date, nearly 400 women (398) have contacted MAR to join the network, of which 186 have already registered. In this first phase of the project, MAR will only operate in the 13 Aragonese regions where Concilia operates.

In the words of Berta Gascón, president of ARTmosfera: "For the second phase, we plan to include the rest of the Aragonese regions, 33 in total. And hopefully, in the next phase, we'll have the resources to cover the entire country."

Regardless of their field of activity, the MAR platform is open to all rural artists and artisans, regardless of whether they are professionally dedicated to art or not. Participants are active or inactive creators, veteran artists or those just starting out, artists who can currently make a living from art or who have made a living from it, and women who combine it with other activities.

The only requirements to participate are: being of legal age and residing in one of the 13 regions mentioned above. Those who wish to join MAR can do so by completing this form : https://forms.gle/8V8KnP3eGJeZ8Z3R8

Sense and Sensibility

MAR's goal, according to Berta Gascón, is to expand and multiply the possibilities of the rural world, both for those who live there and for those who come to visit. And this, through art : "Imagine a family or a group of friends planning a weekend getaway. They want to go to the mountains, but they also fancy doing something different. Through MAR, they can find out if there are artists or artisans in the area, if they have activities for those days, if their workshops are open to the public. Let's also think about a writer who is finishing a book of stories and needs to illustrate them. Go to the website, search by discipline, and access the profiles and work of all the rural illustrators. Then it's just a matter of contacting the one who best represents them and signing up for a collaboration."

Concilia Project

The Concilia project—driven by MAR—is included in the Aragon Rural Development Plan (RDP) 2014-2020 and is implemented through the cooperation of Local Action Groups (LAGs) within LEADER measure 19. The LAGs that make up Concilia are: ADECOBEL, ADECUARA, ADESHO, AGUJAMA, ASOMO, CEDER Somontano, CEDER Zona Oriental, and, as coordinator, CEDER Monegros.