Several pieces from the trilogy Água Musa (2013), L4Craft (2014) and Agricultura Lusitana (2015), resulting from the Craft+Design+Identity will be on display in the Innovation Pathways area at the FIA- International Craft Fair, at FIL, in Lisbon. This year, with the latest project, Agricultura Lusitana, the Aldeias do Xisto represented Portugal as a guest country at EUNIQUE- International Fair for Applied Arts and Design, between 8 and 10 May, in Karlsruhe, Germany.
These projects represent the direction that the Aldeias do Xisto have been following to create social and economic value in the territory by reinventing the culture of the places with the people who live there. We are exploring our cultural identity, drawing upon our creativity and our know-how. We can make our region a living laboratory, open to new ideas and people who are capable of creating hubs for the transformation of the social fabric and give rise to new ways of doing, acting and being.
Água Musa- Craft+Design+Identity
"The Água Musa project involved 18 craftspeople representing 14 workshops, and owes its success to the choice of theme, the craftspeople involved and the modus operandi throughout the project. The methodology and design process in this project were crucial to the results obtained. Water was the inspiring theme for this new relationship CRAFT+DESIGN+NATURE which, by allowing a connection between the handicrafts, the know-how and the culture of the project, provided an innovative direction in the reasoning and narratives of the contemporary pieces that the Aldeias do Xisto want to implement, and are the reflection of a concern with the recovery of identities and the renewal of communities at the service of humanbeings", states João Nunes, creative advisor of the project.
L4Craft- Connection with the locals
The territory of the Aldeias do Xisto is divided into four large hubs: Serra da Lousã, Serra do Açor, Zêzere and Tejo-Ocreza. The L4Craft project was developed from the essence of these spaces, and was based on a process in which the resident creators invited other craftspeople to jointly develop new pieces that represent and convey the spirit of said spaces.
Agricultura Lusitana- Cultivate your Culture
The trilogy that began with the Água Musa and L4Craft projects, under the themes craft + design + nature + territory + identity, was complemented by the Agricultura Lusitana project - based on the reality of the Aldeias do Xisto and Portuguese culture, immersing itself in the values of the region and the Portuguese spirit The slogan of the project, “CULTIVATE YOUR CULTURE”, draws attention to the rural culture of the Aldeias do Xisto, seeking to respect, protect and build it, making our cultural heritage visible.
The "Agricultura Lusitana" project involved around 150 people from 9 national design colleges, 22 craft workshops and a design team, who were invited to immerse themselves in the reality of the villages, drawing inspiration from the context of the places, their communities, landscapes and culture, framing them conceptually in the creation of objects that symbolise memory and identity.
Craft+Design+Identity – A force for change
By incorporating design in the strategic management models at the service of the aims of the territory and the positioning of the brand, the Aldeias do Xisto take on new approaches within the organisation.
In the previous projects, Água Musa and L4Craft, the artisanal know-how of various craft workshops was combined with the field of design to look at and interpret places through immersion in the area, guided by a cross-cutting theme and materialising itself in meaningful artefacts. This link between craft and design has proven to be positive and continues into this Agricultura Lusitana project, which, by incorporating universities, has broadened the scope of its methodology, which is based on the direct relationship between knowledge and reality.
