Entre a memória e a utopia
This residency was aimed at artists who wish to reflect on the role of their generation by meeting and co-creating with previous/previous generations of artists from the Cultural Village of Alte - Algarve.
- project duration
30.09.24 - 19.10.2024
30.09.24 - 19.10.2024
- project location
Casa da Galvana (accommodation)
Casa do Povo (exhibition)
Village of Alte, Algarve (PT)
Casa da Galvana (accommodation)
Casa do Povo (exhibition)
Village of Alte, Algarve (PT)
- project team
Sophia Niederkofler | Nicole Sánchez | Ligia Fernandes | Eugenia Bianchessi | Zoë Nowraty | Ludmila Nawrotzki | Evans Stenakis | Zsófi Molnár
Sophia Niederkofler | Nicole Sánchez | Ligia Fernandes | Eugenia Bianchessi | Zoë Nowraty | Ludmila Nawrotzki | Evans Stenakis | Zsófi Molnár
- artists in residency
Pedro Pratas Rodrigues | Angela Guerra | Coletivo Fantasia (Francisco Novais e Raquel Garcês) | Anna Lubbinge | Pedro Cavaco Leitão | Alun Kirby
Pedro Pratas Rodrigues | Angela Guerra | Coletivo Fantasia (Francisco Novais e Raquel Garcês) | Anna Lubbinge | Pedro Cavaco Leitão | Alun Kirby
- support
Câmara Municipal de Loulê | Casa do Povo de Alte | Festival Política | Artistas Anónimos | Lisbon Drawing Club | Stories Hunters | A Música Portuguesa a Gostar Dela Própria | Associação popular Ribeiro Santos
Câmara Municipal de Loulê | Casa do Povo de Alte | Festival Política | Artistas Anónimos | Lisbon Drawing Club | Stories Hunters | A Música Portuguesa a Gostar Dela Própria | Associação popular Ribeiro Santos
This setting was chosen for the exhibition LIBERDARTE - ENTRE A MEMÓRIA E A UTOPIA - o dia-a-dia de artista antes e depois do 25 de Abril. The exhibition reflects more than a year's worth of research into the daily lives of artists in Portugal, before and after 25 April of the collective Liberdarte curated by Maisuno+1.
Over the course of three weeks, we hosted seven artists who each engaged with the village of Alte and its community to develop unique artistic projects. Each artist or collective spent one week in a shared house, immersing themselves in the local culture and drawing inspiration from the town and its people. At the end of each week, their work was shared with the public, fostering a dynamic dialogue between the artists and the community.
Throughout the residency, we cooked, collaborated, and created together, nurturing a sense of connection and shared purpose. The evolving exhibition reflected this journey, incorporating the artists' pieces as well as contributions from workshops with local children and residents.
This residency aimed to inspire, reconnect, and explore how art can serve as a unifying and transformative force across generations.
Over the course of three weeks, we hosted seven artists who each engaged with the village of Alte and its community to develop unique artistic projects. Each artist or collective spent one week in a shared house, immersing themselves in the local culture and drawing inspiration from the town and its people. At the end of each week, their work was shared with the public, fostering a dynamic dialogue between the artists and the community.
Throughout the residency, we cooked, collaborated, and created together, nurturing a sense of connection and shared purpose. The evolving exhibition reflected this journey, incorporating the artists' pieces as well as contributions from workshops with local children and residents.
This residency aimed to inspire, reconnect, and explore how art can serve as a unifying and transformative force across generations.
Amanhã
Pedro Pratas RodriguesThe project amanhã by the conceptual artist Pedro Pratas Radrigues, currently based in Lisbon, offers an intimate diary of his personal connection to the Algarve, a region he defines as home and the core of his origins. Through his time in Alte, the artist reflects on the themes of memory and everyday life as an artist, using his experiences to explore the ways in which these concepts shape his artistic practice. In this reflection, he examines his journey as a young artist, considering how he will find his place within the contemporary art world. The work is an exploration of identity and place, offering a window into the artist's evolving relationship with his roots and his future.
“When I decided to go to school, a part of me was left behind at that age, a memory that for years I tried to forget. Now, eight years later, I think about what home, time, place and moment mean. There's a desire to show that this place is capable, in this wound, something that can't be erased but that makes us, me and the other, grow and be reborn together.”
- Pedro
amanhã (tomorrow) will help us understand how the tomorrow shapes our present and how artists can dream, create, and build on a collective utopia.
Links: https://www.instagram.com/f.dido/
Links: https://www.instagram.com/f.dido/
Vase full of memories
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Angela Guerra
Angela Guerra
The multidisciplinary artist from Sevilla (ES) worked on a project around the topics of resilience, identity and sustainability. In her work the former fashion designer uses recycled materials creating sculptural pieces that embody fragility and strength at the same time.
During her residency in Alte, she deepened her engagement with the theme of art as "a bridge between the past and present, personal and collective experiences." In collaboration with local tailor Julia, the artist sewed a soft sculptural vase in Julia’s atelier, where the rhythmic sound of an old foot-pedal sewing machine set the backdrop for conversations about family, community, and memory. During her exploratory walks through Alte, Angela discovered an old mattress at a local trash site. She repurposed its foam to create the filling for her sculpture, giving new life to discarded materials. The finished vase was then brought to different places in Alte one of them was Lar de Alte, a local day care center, where the artist engaged with elderly residents to discuss the memories they wish to preserve and the resilience required to navigate life’s challenges. In this context, the vase becomes a symbolic vessel—a repository for collective memory and emotion, a durable, unbreakable object that reflects both personal and communal strength.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/an.ge.la.gue.rra/
During her residency in Alte, she deepened her engagement with the theme of art as "a bridge between the past and present, personal and collective experiences." In collaboration with local tailor Julia, the artist sewed a soft sculptural vase in Julia’s atelier, where the rhythmic sound of an old foot-pedal sewing machine set the backdrop for conversations about family, community, and memory. During her exploratory walks through Alte, Angela discovered an old mattress at a local trash site. She repurposed its foam to create the filling for her sculpture, giving new life to discarded materials. The finished vase was then brought to different places in Alte one of them was Lar de Alte, a local day care center, where the artist engaged with elderly residents to discuss the memories they wish to preserve and the resilience required to navigate life’s challenges. In this context, the vase becomes a symbolic vessel—a repository for collective memory and emotion, a durable, unbreakable object that reflects both personal and communal strength.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/an.ge.la.gue.rra/
Catwalk
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Pedro Cavaco Leitão
Pedro Cavaco Leitão
Pedro, a member of the collective Moradavaga, joined us for a week-long residency in Alte. Drawing inspiration from the research conducted at the Polo Museológico Cândido Guerreiro e Condes de Alte, he explored the town’s unique characteristics and its distinctive architectural elements, visible along the winding streets of Alte. Another source of inspiration came from the many cats roaming the town, which became a central motif of the project.
For the artistic intervention, cardboard cut-out cats were painted in vibrant blue, referencing the traditional Algarvean practice of painting around window frames and borders of the houses in this striking color. These cats were strategically placed throughout the village, highlighting architectural details and raising awareness about the importance of preserving the town’s heritage and identity. The title of the intervention, "catwalk," typically associated with fashion and haute couture shows, was used to describe a pedestrian tour that connects the themes of the residency—freedom, utopia, and memory—with the local construction traditions of Alte.
Following the residency, the collective produced a series of postcards documenting the nine scenes of the intervention, each accompanied by a Portuguese proverb featuring cats, further emphasizing the project’s message of heritage preservation.
Link:
https://www.instagram.com/moradavaga/
https://moradavaga.com/Exhibitions-Workshops-Lectures
For the artistic intervention, cardboard cut-out cats were painted in vibrant blue, referencing the traditional Algarvean practice of painting around window frames and borders of the houses in this striking color. These cats were strategically placed throughout the village, highlighting architectural details and raising awareness about the importance of preserving the town’s heritage and identity. The title of the intervention, "catwalk," typically associated with fashion and haute couture shows, was used to describe a pedestrian tour that connects the themes of the residency—freedom, utopia, and memory—with the local construction traditions of Alte.
Following the residency, the collective produced a series of postcards documenting the nine scenes of the intervention, each accompanied by a Portuguese proverb featuring cats, further emphasizing the project’s message of heritage preservation.
Link:
https://www.instagram.com/moradavaga/
https://moradavaga.com/Exhibitions-Workshops-Lectures
