Last Friday, the Valencian Academy of Language and the City Council of Dénia inaugurated the exhibition "Maria Ibars. A landscape of words. Writing and living in the shadow of Montgó". The exhibition aims to introduce the public to "a unique and extraordinary woman", as expressed by Rosa Seser, curator of the exhibition together with Carles Mulet and the Maria Ibars Commission of the Academy. It can be visited at the l'Estació Art Centre in Dénia until 8 December.
This is the first exhibition dedicated to the author from Dénia, designated by the AVL as Writer of the Year 2024. For the first time, original materials from both her personal life and her literary work are on display. "The idea is to offer a plural vision of a little-known but valued author. We will see how Maria Ibars wrote when she could; already being an adult woman in a cultural world dominated by men, and despite the difficulties, she did so in Valencian," Seser and Mulet highlighted.
The exhibition, designed by the Espirelius studio, is structured around a reception area, followed by a corridor where fragments of the author's publications are displayed, leading to the main hall. In this room, five exhibition spaces are arranged continuously along the walls. The background colour, the design and the objects on display mark the transitions between the themes.
Exhibition spaces
The first space, entitled "Dénia", places Maria Ibars in the literary context of other authors who, like her, wrote about the capital of the Marina Alta and its landscape, including Lope de Vega, John Dos Passos and Vicent Andrés Estellés. This section includes a showcase with publications by these authors and a selection of materials related to Ibars.
The second section, “Maria Ibars i Ibars”, deals with the biographical features and character of the author, aspects that had a notable influence on her work. The public will be able to discover the Valencianist teacher and the strong and solitary woman that was Maria Ibars. A large-format image of Gayarre Street in Dénia, where the Ibars family lived, and a portrait of the writer, the work of Enrique Pastor de Velasco, which reflects her psychology, are on display.
The third part of the exhibition, “Habitar el vers”, is dedicated to the author’s poetic work. Here, the painting Allegory of Penyamar, also by Enrique Pastor de Velasco, stands out. The material on display includes her main book of poetry, Poemes de Penyamar, published in 1949.
In the section Consciousness made story, the narrative work of Maria Ibars is presented, with books such as Vines Plans (1962) and The last serf (1965), through which he portrayed the society and traditions of his time. A large image of the Montgó opens this space, accompanied by photographs of the port, trains and the grape blanching process, together with ethnographic objects related to the production of raisins.
The tour ends with “D'Adrián Saby a Maria Ibars”, which reflects the role of women in the society of her time. This part tells how the author stopped using a male pseudonym to sign with her name and her inclination towards the female world. In addition, a documentary about Ibars from the program will be screened. Valentes, broadcast by À Punt.
unpublished material
The exhibition is complemented by an installation in the centre of the main room that shows the writer's most intimate side. The installation has two faces: one, which highlights her inspiration in Dénia, with a large colour photograph of the Calle Marques de Campo and another by Maria Ibars, accompanied by her poems dedicated to the city; and the other, which recreates with furniture the space of personal creation in her house in Penyamar.
Seven display cases house original materials, including manuscripts, typescripts and drafts of his best-known works, Poems by Penyamar, Vides Planes and L'últim serfThe Dénia Municipal Archive and the city's Ethnographic Museum have provided a valuable collection of objects and documents to complete the exhibition.
«We must thank Enrique Pastor de Velasco and his lawyer, Josep Sala, for their interest, who have done everything possible to ensure that we have all the original documents and photographs of Maria Ibars that were kept in her house in Penyamar, in Les Rotes, and which are coming to light for the first time," said Seser. The collaboration of the writer's family, especially her great-granddaughter Patricia Payà, has also been fundamental.
The bust of Maria Ibars in the "writers' corner" of Dénia
The presentation of the exhibition was attended by the mayor of Dénia, Vicent Grimalt, the president of the AVL, Verònica Cantó, the president of the Maria Ibars Commission of the Academy, Àngels Gregori, and the curators of the exhibition, Carles Mulet and Rosa Seser.
The mayor took the opportunity to announce that Dénia will soon have a bust of Maria Ibars, already commissioned by the City Council, which will be located in an emblematic place in the city center, in Glorieta, next to the writer Juan Chabás and near the plaque commemorating Vicent Andrés Estellés. "The Glorieta del País Valencià –said Grimalt– will be our particular 'writers' corner' who have made Dénia great through literature."
I had the opportunity to attend a guided tour conducted brilliantly IN SPANISH by Rosa Seser, Municipal Archivist. It is a pity that the exhibition contains explanatory texts EXCLUSIVELY in Valencian, which leaves out a large number of people who might be interested.
Why not offer the texts in BOTH official languages?