CASA DE PARTIDA — ARTISTIC RESIDENCIES

Within the context of the CASA DE PARTIDA exhibition, I carried out a series of artistic residencies, which I integrated — with the support of the Arraiolos City Council and CITA — into the festival "O Tapete está na rua." These residencies were centered on collaborative creation and dialogue with different communities. These residencies in Lisbon, Torrão, Coruche, and culminating in Arraiolos, involved local participants and my own team in an active sharing of textile know-how, with a special focus on valuing the Arraiolos stitch as a contemporary artistic language. Over periods ranging from three days to a week in each location (several periods), I worked directly with more than 50 participants — over 100 hands — promoting the transmission of ancestral techniques and the joint creation of textile pieces that reflect the identities, stories, and contributions of each community. The process was not confined to the studio: as part of the festival, I brought both the pieces and the people into public space, occupying streets in Arraiolos such as Alexandre Herculano street, Espírito Santo street, and Praça do Município (Town Hall Square), making the collective act of embroidery visible as an aesthetic, political, and community expression. These residencies were fundamental in transforming the carpet into tapestry and, in turn, into a work of art, giving face and voice to the hands that have traditionally remained anonymous. The journey of sharing, learning, and creation was accompanied by a videographer, Nelson Chantre, resulting in a documentary that records not only the production of the works but also the lived experience, the exchange of knowledge, and the impact of this collaborative process on the lives of those involved. Through this work, the CASA DE PARTIDA exhibition offers a poetic, critical, and collective reading of identity, territory, and cultural heritage, celebrating the Arraiolos stitch as a living, transformative practice deeply rooted in the memory and future of the communities. Techniques: Textiles: Arraiolos stitch