The Arts Train: Female Agency at the Railway Company (1985-1989)

Abstract

Nelly Rebeque is an art and painting teacher; she worked as an administrative officer at the Ferrocarriles Argentinos company between 1954 and 1991. In a typically male world of work, Nelly created spaces for art and was in charge of the Arts Train: a cultural company that came out on tour throughout the country between 1985 and 1989. In this article, we attempt to make visible the artistic experience managed by this railway worker in relation to her career recorded in her personal file. Through a triangulation of oral and written sources, we describe the artistic project, explain the scope and limitations of female agency in a male workplace, and place the experience of the Arts Train in the memory and history of the railroad in Argentina.