Conservación como acción política. La alteridad que somos

Abstract

This text shows some reflections of the authors that have motivated and emerged from their participation in the women’s collective Restauradoras con glitter, defining a professional and political position. This position was and is stated as a result of the interventions made by women on different monuments since August 2019 in response to misogynist violence and the aggressive criticism and judgments that, in response, an important part of the public opinion emitted. Our participation is also motivated by the consciousness that monuments can be used to communicate other messages than those communicated by the hegemonic discourse, and sustained from the institutions, without betraying the profession. On the contrary, we fully assume conservation as a social discipline. We address the concepts of alterity and subalternity, the notions of the impossibility of neutrality in conservation, along with the necessity of keeping the memory of our historical and social context, and the right to demonstration. We do not forget to point out the serious problems that women face in Mexico, and that it is possible to remove paint from surfaces, but not violence and murder.