Conservation, Tourism, and Identity of Contemporary Community Art: A Case Study of Felipe Seade’’s Mural "allegory to Work"

This unique volume aims to promote new models of sustainable management in the field of contemporary mural art. Cultural heritage has become an essential tool for society, stressing the necessity to properly conserve cultural resources in order to maintain a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development.

In this book, the mural ＂Allegory to Work＂ by the artist Felipe Seade, located in Uruguay, is used as a case study. The work of Felipe Seade, a prominent political mural artist of the twentieth century, reflects the influence of Mexican heritage and the socio-political themes of that time, which were commonly used by the Social Realism art movement. The authors look at the mural--and its restoration--through the lens of tourism, globalization, and new interest in cultural heritage. The book demonstrates that the restoration should be aware that the perspective of the protagonists must be incorporated in the intervention process.

This first-of-its-kind volume brings together historical, ethnographic, tourism, and scientific research that leads to a sustainable project, from the point of view of identity, economy, politics, and society. This volume, with over 50 color illustrations and many black and white photos, will be valuable for college and research libraries, undergraduate and graduate students, researchers and professors in the field of cultural heritage and art as well as those involved in community-based research.

Virginia Santamarina-Campos, PhD, is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Spain. She is also the coordinator of the Research micro-cluster VLC/CAMPUS International ＂Globalization, tourism and heritage＂, and of the research group ＂Sustainable management of the cultural and natural heritage＂ at the Faculty of Fine Arts, UPV. She has been a visiting researcher at Italy and Mexico. Her specialization is related to conservation and Restoration of Mural Art. She received a National Award for her final dissertation by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports in Spain. In the last 5 years, she has conducted eight international R+D projects supported by competitive calls and five R+D international contracts supported by public and private organizations. The results have been disseminated through several scientific journals and contributions to national and international congresses.

María Ángeles Carabal-Montagud, PhD, is a Professor at the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV), Spain. She is a member of the Research micro-cluster VLC/CAMPUS ＂Globalization, tourism and heritage＂, and of the research group ＂Sustainable management of the cultural and natural heritage＂ at the Faculty of Fine Arts, UPV. In addition, she has supervised several PhD theses and Master and Degree dissertations.

María de Miguel-Molina, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Management Department and Head of Studies at the Management School at the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV), Spain. She is member of the Research micro-cluster VLC/CAMPUS ＂Globalization, tourism and heritage＂. Her main research focus is on the public sector, public policies, public management, and inclusive policies. She has participated in several international and national R&D projects (competitive calls). In addition, she has been at the Lakehead University in Canada and the UC Berkeley in the USA as Visiting Professor in order to research muralism public policies. She supervised several PhD and Master theses and has published more than 35 papers.

Blanca de Miguel-Molina, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Management Department of the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (UPV), Spain. She teaches courses mainly in strategic management and business models. Her main research involves innovation in creative and cultural industries, corporate community involvement, and bibliometrics. She is the supervisor of various PhD and Master theses, and she has published her research results in several indexed journals on creative and cultural industries, among other fields.