Drawing Resilience. Abrir La Casa

The future “Casa de la Memoria” project in San José Las Flores, El Salvador, aims to be a cultural hub that complements the existing historical memory museum by the Sumpul River. This initiative is part of broader Historical Memory projects1 addressing the trauma and violence of the Salvadoran civil war (1980-1992) and resilience of communities. The project seeks not only to create a space for social interaction but also to articulate collective commemoration through creativity, dialogue, and sharing. It will be developed using a participatory design process, with this paper focusing on one of the early activities in that process. A workshop held in January 2025 in El Salvador involves students from KU Leuven (BE), UCA (ES), and UES (ES). This workshop builds on the course “Spaces and Rituals of Surviving Memory” (Uniservitate Award 2024) and will gather students from diverse disciplines— architecture, art, and history—alongside community members to engage in collaborative sharing, using drawing as a co-creation tool. Participants will use drawing and model-making to express their experiences and perspectives, generating an understanding of the complexities surrounding postwar memory. This creative process encourages individual reflection while promoting community engagement through shared narratives that reflect varied histories. The workshop serves as a case study in memory pedagogy, demonstrating how creative methods can enhance educational practices and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. It highlights the significance of intercultural exchange, enabling participants to learn from each other’s experiences and contribute to a richer narrative of El Salvador’s history. The paper will document the workshop’s outcomes, offering insights into creative tools for community engagement and memory work. By examining the impact of this practice-based approach and contextualizing it in a broader theoretical network, we add valuable knowledge to similar initiatives that prioritize collective memory and strengthen resilience in communities facing the trauma of conflict and state violence.