This is an archaeology of the hydrocommons, a cartographic constellation of the western Mediterranean. Inspired by Lisa Blackmore’s concept of the hydrocommons, we define the western Mediterranean hydrocommons as a territory where knowledge, processes, and places intertwine, mobilize, and converge. This is a space that reflects the rich diversity of environmental, artistic, educational, and community initiatives that revolve around Mediterranean waters and their present vitality.

Under these premises, we have depicted the Mediterranean hydrocommons in a cartography, a graphic interrelation of knowledge where the museum connects with its surroundings beyond its walls, dissolving its boundaries and expanding its institutional narrative. This artifact navigates through new interpretations of the Mediterranean cultural aquatic landscape, guided by the agents that sustain it. We should point out that it is not a definite list, but a trigger to keep adding and expanding access to other cultural manifestations and social groups.

The artifacts in ARQVA’s collection become mediators between the museum and the territory. By placing these objects on the map, new narratives are woven that update, expand, and connect the museum, giving rise to the delineation of cartographic constellations generated among their common agents. 

How does it work?

We envision this cartography as a mediation tool. In order to activate the map, we use different pieces from ARQVA’s collection outlined on a transparent object, which can slide over the cartography. This helps understand the broad dimension of the museum and how it is linked to the contemporary reality of its territory.

A “constellation” refers to a series of hydrocommons—shared water-related resources and cultural narratives—that connect in specific ways to an object in the collection, forming its symbolic representation on our cartography. This interactive map explores these connections, revealing how each piece relates not only to the hydrocommons but also to broader cultural themes.

In our research, beyond the relations we set between the hydrocommons and the pieces of the collections, we identified six distinct themes that link the different hydrocommons to each other: humid mysteries, submerged futures, liquid heritage, more-than-human landscapes, subaquatic policies, and hydric immaterialities.

Humid mysteries explore the enigmas that surround water-based landscapes and communities, objects found underwater, and the cultural manifestations related to them. Submerged futures envision potential aquatic scenarios and build realities according to those imaginations. Liquid heritage focuses on the historical significance of cultural manifestations and the potential for multiple reinterpretations. More-than-human landscapes highlight the interactions between human and non-human entities in aquatic environments. Subaquatic policies address governance and rights related to underwater spaces. Finally, hydric immaterialities examine the intangible cultural elements associated with water.

This mediation object approach aims to expand and enhance the interconnectedness of the museum’s narrative and also foster a deeper connection between the museum and its broader cultural and environmental context, and among the cultural manifestations themselves.