The story collection Roses in the Lettuce takes its name from an exercise devised by Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari: dipping the base of a lettuce heart in ink and pressing it onto a flat surface to produce the outline of a rose. The exercise becomes a metaphor for using drawing and illustration to transform the everyday life of Museo CA2M into something extraordinary.
Las Tejedoras (The Knitters) began with three local women who, in 2014, started meeting at Museo CA2M to chat while crocheting together. Little by little, others joined them, until there were enough of them to need a large table of their own at the museum every Wednesday from 11 am to 2 pm. Over the years, Tejiendo Móstoles—a name that reflects their desire to weave the city’s social fabric—has become emblematic of the museum.
For Museo CA2M, this project reflects an approach in which the institution steps back, creating space for different communities to make the museum their own while supporting their own practices and forms of participation. We are constantly learning from Las Tejedoras.
The illustrations in this first story are by Tuchi Galán.