Strangely ‘rescuing’ the signboard

A conglomeration of projects across the Iberian peninsula is protecting commercial signs in an effort to preserve a largely overlooked aspect of culture.

Orte clothing store in Madrid Bright red, lined with polka dots and as long as three cars, the Orte clothing store sign has long been located on Madrid’s Alcalá street (Spain), its presence unwavering since its inception. even when fast food restaurants and chains started popping up. When the store closed and the land turned to rent, the news quickly reached Alberto Nanclares. Within days he arrived at the site, working with a team to try to remove the sign from the façade, where it has stood for more than five decades. Nanclares is part of the Iberian Graphic Heritage Protection Network, which includes more than 50 projects dedicated to honoring and protecting a type of heritage that they say is endangered: the commercial signs that have long made their mark. city ​​identity. “Everybody sees these signs, but few people pay attention to them,” said Nanclares. “When they are thrown away, the memory of our city is thrown away.” The projects in the network are diverse – there is a movement to preserve signs in the hope that they might one day appear in a museum, such as Nanclares’ Paco Graco project, as well as a project to classify objects. signs, from century-old enamelware to colorful neon signs. It all creates a living archive that spans 25 cities and towns across the peninsula. The core vision of the network is that heritage includes not only palaces, cathedrals and royal jewels, but also the places that shape our lives and identities – a heritage that is open to all. everyone, according to Nanclares. “There are very few people in Spain who think that this is heritage, that this is what binds us together, allows us to progress and understand ourselves better.” Inspired by signage museums in Berlin (Germany) and Warsaw (Poland), the Iberian movement took on new meaning after a series of recessions – from the 2008 economic crisis to to the Covid-19 pandemic – which changed the cityscape. Laura Asensio, a graphic designer in Valladolid, Spain, says that when small businesses close, they are often replaced by giant global corporations that don’t have much of a local connection. She points to the changes that have swept Spain’s city centres: “Whether you’re in Madrid, Barcelona or Salamanca, the city’s iconic symbols are now essentially the same,” Asensio says. “There will always be a McDonald’s, a Zara store… It’s a pity that cities lose their charm.” The Letreiro Galeria project has collected more than 250 signs Asensio’s project, Valladolid with Character, hopes to prevent this monotony with an interactive map of more than 1,000 signs around the city. Compiled by a team of people, the map marks everything from the decades-old red bus stop signs welcoming visitors to the giant calligraphy pen that sits above the sign of a fountain pen shop. In Lisbon (Portugal), Rita Múrias and Paola Batata started their project in 2014, when souvenir shops and crepe stalls sprang up all over the city. “We were designers in search of ideas, and then we realized these signs capture the stories of store owners and human memories,” says Múrias. “People tell you about a time they visited these stores with their grandmother, or when they were kids. They associate location with memories.” The two soon began using their free time and budget to “rescue” signs from businesses that were about to close. Their project, Letreiro Galeria (Sign Exhibit), has now collected 250 different signs. They are currently in a borrowed warehouse while the two strive to realize their dream of opening a museum. While some cities have enacted laws to protect signs, the network’s members hope that their efforts will help people understand heritage of this kind. “It is a process of raising awareness. People’s reactions are amazing when they follow me on Instagram and then they love the sign more than the selfie,” said López. “Then they started sending me pictures of the signs they saw while traveling. It creates a chain effect.”