After a lovely stay in Byblos Cultural Centre, Lebanon, On The Move exhibition moved to Madrid Botanical Gardens from 19 February to 15 March 2015, where it received a lot of exposure and thousands of visitors.
On the Move is an exhibition of professional photography commissioned by the Mediterranean Consortium for Nature and Culture. It celebrates the lives, challenges and ecological knowledge of transhumant shepherds and nomadic pastoralists in the Mediterranean region. From North Africa to the Middle East, from the Iberian Peninsula to Turkey, Greece and the Balkans, the work of professional photographers from each subregion will be featured in this unique travelling exhibition.
Transhumance is the movement of livestock in search of water and food. It differs from nomadism in that only the herders who lead the flock participate, leaving their families behind. Animal mythology and symbolism permeate all aspects of this nomadic society and their way of living is in real harmony with nature. As human groups they are part of the ecosystems they pass through and their way of living embedded in nature, they are themselves part of biodiversity.
The purpose of this exhibition is to:
– To celebrate and assert the great value of the ecological knowledge of transhumant herders and nomadic pastoralists;
– To raise awareness of the importance of these lifestyles for both nature and culture; – To assist in lobbying for increased recognition and strengthened legislation;
– To raise additional funds for supporting projects that assist transhumant herders and nomadic pastoralists in relation to biodiversity conservation.
After Madrid the exhibition was moved to Asturias (Spain), where it continued its mission of raising awareness about transhumance and mobile pastoralism in the Mediterranean. The first Asturias exhibition was in the Ecomuseum Ca L’Asturcon, and the second (starting on 22 May) will take place at the Palacio Florez Estrada.
In addition, from 1 – 15 June it will go to Extremadura in Spain to the Regional Parliament of Extremadura – another wonderful opportunity to keep things moving.
Hopefully our next project will be finalised soon and we can continue plans for our remaining country exhibitions (Turkey and Greece).
