The Department of Culture, Education and Heritage of the Consell Insular de Ibiza has organized the three new temporary exhibitions of 2025 of the Ethnographic Museum of Ibiza Can Ros under the themes: ‘Pottery tradition in Ibiza’, ‘Fairies and witches’ and ‘Remedios payeses y medicina tradicional’.
The Councillor for Culture, Education and Heritage, Sara Ramon, explained that “as every year we inaugurate these exhibitions as part of the festivities of Santa Eulalia, will be this Sunday, February 16 at 10:00 am, and put in value ancient crafts. In this sense, the councilor has detailed that “this year we have three exhibitions: on the one hand, the pottery tradition, which is more topical than ever and is a trade that has passed from generation to generation; another sample, focused on children, to meet the female mythological characters, fairies and witches; and finally, in parallel with the Days of Popular Culture on traditional medicine and herbs, an exhibition on ancient medicinal remedies.
The councilor recalled that on February 15 at 19:00 pm, the Auditorium of the Multipurpose Building of Cas Serres will host a lecture by the social and cultural anthropologist Marta Torres Ribas, curator of two of the exhibitions, entitled “The symbolic effectiveness of Ibizan remedies”.
For its part, the director of the Ethnographic Museum, Lina Sansano, stressed that the aim of these samples “is not only to exhibit pieces, but also to disseminate knowledge and popular and traditional expressions that surround them”. In this line, Lina Sansano stressed that, among the three exhibitions, they wanted one of them to be focused on children: “We always receive many visits from schoolchildren and we address the issue of witches and fairies, analyzing whether they are really so different, because fairies can also get angry and witches can also show compassion”.
About the new temporary exhibitions in 2025:
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The first exhibition, ‘Pottery tradition in Ibiza’, curated by Susana Cardona, aims to show a selection of pieces from the collection of traditional pottery kept by the museum. Through this exhibition, visitors can learn firsthand the processes of craftsmanship, from the collection and preparation of the clay to the manufacture and final marketing of the pieces. The aim is to recognize the dedication and skills of generations of Ibizans who have practiced and continue to maintain this ancient craft, as well as to identify and highlight a set of utensils and functional containers linked to the daily activities of traditional Ibizan society.
In addition, the exhibition is complemented by two murals inspired by photographs of the Image and Sound Archive of the Consell Insular de Ibiza, created by artists Tito Fernández (@elTitoartwork) and Juan Manuel Carrillo (Necko), following an urban and innovative aesthetic.
It is planned to complement this exhibition with training workshops, which, in collaboration with local artisans, will be held throughout the year at the museum and its extensions in Ses Païsses de Cala d’Hort and in the Espai Cultural Molí d’en Simó in Sant Antoni de Portmany.
- The second exhibition, ‘Fairies and Witches’, curated by Marta Torres, reflects on magic and religion, focusing on two antagonistic characters: fairies and witches. Both are present in popular tales and star in spells, rituals and magical acts with the purpose of helping, but also of causing harm to people. The exhibition is complemented by a short animation video made by Júlia Aguiló.
- The third exhibition, ‘Remedios payeses y medicina tradicional’, also curated by Marta Torres, brings together a series of natural home remedies, passed down from generation to generation, to prevent and cure various diseases. Traditional medicine, however, goes beyond the properties of plants and also grants healing powers to different actions, rituals and prayers. For the realization of this exhibition, we have counted on the collaboration of families and individuals who have contributed their testimony and have temporarily ceded exhibition material. Particularly noteworthy is the collaboration of Elena Colom, granddaughter of the founder of Herbolaria Colom, a reference store in the popular neighborhood of La Marina for decades, frequented by generations of Ibicencos in search of remedies for various ailments.
The three exhibitions can be visited throughout the year, until December 19, from Tuesday to Sunday.
