MATÉRIAS
The Matérias project proposed the development of a collaborative artistic creation process, a crossdisciplinary approach in the visual and performing arts, with the goal of creating a sculpture together with the residents of the Nogueiras neighborhood and the community of the Teixoso parish in Covilhã.
Contact with the community was established by Praxé Blazquez da Beira Serra and maintained through a series of performance workshops led by Sílvia Pinto Ferreira of Quarta Parede, interspersed with textile workshops coordinated by Rita Salvado and directed by Andreia Félix and João Lázaro of the Covilhã Wool Museum.
Drawing on the municipality's textile tradition and tangible and intangible heritage, the workshops provided opportunities for reflection on know-how. Using textile waste from local industries, namely Lança and Penteadora, participants were challenged to create weaving fragments that would serve as raw material for the work. Using fabrics or yarns from partner factories is not only an ecological gesture, but also symbolic, representing the history and reality of the region and fostering a sense of belonging.
Highlighting the transformative and participatory role that art c an play in local contexts, the workshops sought to foster collective reflection by exploring the connections art can have from a social, educational, and sustainable perspective.
The resulting work was not just a physical object, but a tangible symbol of community collaboration and local transformation. The sculpture will not only be present in a space, but will also carry within it the meaning of belonging, sustainability, and collective history, changing the perception of the neighborhood itself and strengthening residents' bond with their place.
Short Bio
Ana Mena Sculptor, lecturer, and researcher. PhD in Fine Arts, specializing in Sculpture, from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon (2019). She is an Assistant Professor at FBAUL and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Applied Arts, Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (ESART). As a researcher, she is an integrated member of CIEBA – the Research Centre in Fine Arts at the University of Lisbon – and a collaborator at Techn&Art – the Centre for Technology, Restoration and Valorisation of the Arts at the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar. She has supervised master’s dissertations, served on academic juries, published articles in various scientific journals, and participated in international projects such as ArcTic South and CAPHE, as well as in the project Matérias, funded by DGArtes.
https://projeto-materias.pt/