Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the use of handicrafts produced in Galicia as symbols of identity that support the political, social and cultural context of the region.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper I aim to describe and analyze the cultural policies implemented in Galicia as survival strategies within the European Union over the past 30 years. In this regard, the institutional intervention appears to have fostered a legitimization of political power while at the same time it has produced identity credentials that are based on difference and permit operating from an economic level in two ways: first, by encouraging the shift of the production network to the tertiary sector and, second, by serving as a brand image in the tourism sector. Examining these complex dynamics with multifaceted interests that are linked to strong tensions between local and global, economic and political, social and cultural levels, I will show to which point can vary the degrees of authenticity that can be used by contemporary Galician craft production.