Construyendo experiencias transmedia: El caso de 'Tirabirak / Tiras que aflojan'

Abstract

Tirabirak  is a transmedia project that analyzes how the newspapers cartoons depict the Basque conflict, during 1977 and 2016. However, it is more than a research project, as it proposes a critical approach to the subject and a re-reading of our recent past. In doing so, it uses different platforms and communication languages, allowing public access through different channels. The research group EMAN, Donostia/San Sebastian 2016 Foundation and EITB have joined efforts in this project that has compiled a number of daily papers cartoons, interviews with the most significant cartoonists (Forges, Zaldieroa, Axpi, Peridis, Tasio, Oroz, Zulet and others) and information on the social and political context of the last four decades. The project has also designed a set of platforms and means through which socialize the information gathered and allow an open and plural dialogue among users. The transmedia design that supports Tirabirak uses videos, applications, face-to-face activities and printed information offering a wide picture of the conflict in the Basque Country in the recent years through the cartoon and their authors. The project has two main elements: an itinerary exhibition and a web-based documentary. The first one has already toured the capitals and some Basque towns (Pamplona, Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastian, Arrasate, Vitoria-Gasteiz ...), showing a selection of the most significant cartoons and other audiovisual contents, offering an open and rich experience for visitors. As for the webdoc, it is a virtual platform where the user can watch all the contents of the interviews, access the digital file containing about 1,200 political cartoons and information that contextualizes the work of the newspapers and of the cartoonists. Tirabirak is a creative plural and open project that has combined physical and virtual means, multiplying access channels and offering its users a rich and challenging experience.