CASA DE PARTIDA

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, using the outline stitch that dates back to the first Arraiolos stitch tapestries of the 16th century. Tapestry in Arraiolos stitch Approximately 290 x 170 cm Detail. A moment of the tapestry in production in Arraiolos.