UV’s Vice-Principal Ester Alba expressed her ‘pride and satisfaction with this initiative, which shows that the students of the Universitat de València are committed to a critical, inclusive and diverse culture’, and that through this call, ‘they are highlighting the values of a public university, with high-quality and original projects.’

On the other hand, Domingo Pujante emphasised that ‘this is a unique initiative in Europe, in which many universities have shown interest, and we are looking for a way to internationalise the model.’

In this year’s edition, six of the 22 projects presented won: Collectivising the city and the memory, Oblivious Magazine, In Ruins, Culture on Stage: Interviews on Cultural and Natural Heritage, Art, gender and ageism: The Seven Veils of Inma Coll and Can I go to the bathroom?.

All the projects have been carried out by students at the Universitat de València’s undergraduate, master’s or doctorate degrees, and they will be exhibited throughout the university in 2024. A grant of 15,000 euros will be awarded to promote the initiatives.

Winning projects

Collectivising the city and the memory is a project led by Paula Benavent, a student of the Degree in History of Art, and consists of a workshop to create a meeting space to share personal stories linked to specific places in the city.

Oblivious Magazine is a collaborative project led by Andrea Falaguera and a team of 18 people, registered in the UV’s Students Associations and Collectives Census. The magazine aims to disseminate literary texts of all genres and languages, encourage the participation in literary events and interview different authors.

Alejandro Chust, a student of the Diploma of Specialisation in Artistic Education and Museum Management, presented an exhibition based on the urban residues generated by the demolition of buildings in cities and their cultural biographies.

Sonia Olmos, a student of the Master’s Degree in Social Economics, received the award for Culture to the Stage: Interviews on Cultural and Natural Heritage. This is a workshop that uses new technologies to explore the culture and heritage in a fun and creative way.

Alejandro Villar, a student of the Doctoral Programme in History of Art, proposed a temporary exhibition, research and enhancement of the latest work by multidisciplinary and feminist artist Inma Coll.

Finally, Can I go to the bathroom? is an initiative by María Belén Bulgheroni Mollo, Fabiola Garozzo, Irene Sanchis, Marisol Layseca and Valentina Pirisi, students of the Permanent training master's degree in Experimental Programme of Mediation and Education through Art (PERMEA). The aim of this project is to intervene in the women’s bathrooms of the Joan Reglà Humanities Library, questioning their meaning as mere spaces for satisfying physiological needs.