ACRE's 'Memorias y Patrimonios Personales' Wins Spain's 2026 National Restoration and Conservation Prize
The project Memorias y Patrimonios Personales, developed by ACRE, has received Spain's Premio Nacional de Restauración y Conservación de Bienes Culturales 2026, a prestigious award valued at 30,000 euros, following the DANA floods in Valencia. This initiative has successfully restored 235 items across 17 municipalities, encompassing documents, paintings, and musical instruments. Funding for the recovery of cultural properties was provided through a 300,000-euro grant from the Ministerio de Cultura, as stipulated in Real Decreto-ley 8/2024 dated 28 November. ACRE prioritized personal items that reflect family identity over traditional monuments. The jury, led by Ángeles Albert, commended the project's innovative approach as a benchmark for regions impacted by climate change. This award comes after the 2025 recognition for the restoration of Madrid's Beti Jai fronton.
Key facts
- The project Memorias y Patrimonios Personales, by the association ACRE, received the Premio Nacional de Restauración y Conservación de Bienes Culturales 2026, endowed with 30,000 euros.
- 235 objects from 17 municipalities have been treated, including graphic documents, paintings, sculptures, ceramics, textiles, musical instruments and ethnographic objects.
- The Ministerio de Cultura provided a 300,000-euro direct grant under Real Decreto-ley 8/2024 of 28 November for post-DANA cultural recovery.
- The jury was chaired by Ángeles Albert, director general de Patrimonio Cultural y Bellas Artes, with Fernando Sáez Lara of the IPCE as vice-president.
- The jury highlighted the project's participatory methodology and technical innovation as a model for areas affected by climate-change disasters.
- ACRE focused on domestic and personal heritage rather than monuments, historic buildings or institutional collections.
- The project coordinated with Salvem les fotos and work by the Institut Valencià de Conservació, Restauració i Investigació (IVCR+i).
- The 2025 edition of the prize went to the recovery of the Beti Jai fronton in Madrid.
Entities
Artists
- Ángeles Albert
- Fernando Sáez Lara
- María Domingo
- José Antonio Padrón
- Elena Aguado
- M.ª Eugenia del Río
- Cristina González Gaya
- Ángel Luis de Sousa
- Juan José Primo
- Felipe Criado-Boado
- Teresa Espejo
- Begoña Carrascosa
- Jon Apodaca
- Fernando Carrera
- Tomás Antelo
- María de los Ángeles Querol Fernández
- María Pía Timón Tiemblo
- Araceli Pereda Alonso
- José María Pérez
- Peridis
- María Domingo Fominaya
- Elena Aguado Guardiola
- M.ª Eugenia del Río Villar
- Ángel Luis de Sousa Seibane
- Juan José Primo Jurado
- Teresa Espejo Arias
- Begoña Carrascosa Moliner
- Jon Apodaca Martín
- Fernando Carrera Ramírez
- Mª Pía Timón Tiemblo
- José María Pérez 'Peridis'
Institutions
- ACRE
- Ministerio de Cultura
- Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE)
- Ayuntamiento de Madrid
- ICOMOS Comité Nacional de España
- Escuela Superior de Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales de Madrid
- Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid
- Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
- Fundación Fernando Higueras
- Instituto Andaluz del Patrimonio Histórico
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- Universidad de Granada
- Universitat Politècnica de València
- Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao
- Escuela Superior de Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales de Galicia
- Salvem les fotos
- Institut Valencià de Conservació, Restauració i Investigació (IVCR+i)
- Consejo de Europa
- Asociación de Conservadores Restauradores de España (ACRE)
- Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España
- ICOMOS España
- UNED
- Instituto Andaluz de Patrimonio Histórico
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (INCIPIT-CSIC)
- Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (IRP-UPV)
- Frontón Beti Jai
- Revista de Arte - Logopress
Locations
- Valencia
- Spain
- Madrid
- Bilbao
- Granada
- Galicia
- Andalusia
- València
- Andalucía