The Loma San Jeronimo staircase
Year
2018-2019
The Loma San Jeronimo intervention was the first community outreach project developed within the Moxel workshop. The project aimed to revitalize the public space and empower the community through collaborative art work. The San Jeronimo neighbourhood is one of the most emblematic areas of Asuncion, located on one of the 7 foundation hills of this capital. The design was an homage for the 478 anniversary of the founding of the city.
The design tried to reflect the history and identity of the neighbourhood, combining elements like the river, the hills, the neighbourhood and the sky using ceramics and glass. The development of the piece was carried out in its entirety in the workshop by volunteers, and placed in the staircase in an intensive one-day session, in which inhabitants of the neighbourhood collaborated in the process. Today, the staircase is considered a symbol of the city of Asuncion (Paraguay).
INSIGHT
What was the most difficult part of this project?
When doing this type of urban intervention, there is a lot of doubt regarding the outcome. The acceptance and involvement of the inhabitants is vital for the project to work. At the end, the most important outcome is the trust and the network that is built during the process.
Do you think this project can be scaled up?
It can and it did. After the conclusion of the intervention, other communities were interested in revitalizing their neighbourhoods. An important difference between the first project and the following was the involvement of the communities, which had increased on each new intervention.
What was your biggest takeaway learning from this project?
The project highlighted the impact of the history behind the objects. In a mosaic art piece, each element can tell a story, especially in this case, where most of the materials were recycled and some, where ceramics provided by the volunteers. The attachment and involvement changes when a personal item is part of the whole. This also affects the preservation of the area where the artwork is based.
