Fabrica Da Criatividade Residency
Castelo Branco, Portugal
August 2025
A month-long residency brought together 12 artists and designers from Manchester School of Art to produce new work in response to the culture, landscape, and environment of Castelo Branco. Participants engaged with the local community, explored the city, and undertook research trips. The work was presented in the exhibition FOUND IN: Castelo Branco.
Exhibiting Artists: Amy Bradnock, Beau Langmead, Charlie Mooney, Cain Casson, Coco Day, Daisy Fulton, Elvira Bernard, Henrietta Day, Isaac Heath, Monica McManaman, Rio Darwin, Ruby Eden
This exhibition is the byproduct of 12 art & design students from Manchester School of Art living and working in Castelo Branco, producing work within a new cultural landscape.
When we arrived in Castelo Branco on the 1st of August, it wasn't exactly clear what artwork would come from this trip - we could not have predicted how the town and people we built connections to would have shaped the final body of work in this show.
By choice or chance, we artists have had a particular interest in what some call "treasure" though ethers may say "trash". Not wanting to interrupt the flow of the city, we wait patiently for an item to be thrown away, that we think reflects the romance and poetry of Portugal. We have been happy to take on a bit of scrap wood - with markings from its previous owner, beautiful chairs that could only be owned by someone of impecable taste, or old archival images all complimented with insignias that help us learn about Portugal's dynamic visual and historic past.
We have allowed these objects to wash up on our shores, polishing, painting and displaying them for the exhibition. By engaging with found material we have been able to contribute to the life of these objects and have been consciously or unconsciously informed by the material or subject matter.
There is a phrase in England for objects that float to the seashore called, the flotsam and jetsam. The "flotsome" refers to objects that have occurred accidentally from ships and the "Jetsome" refers to objects deliberately thrown overboard by ships. The water polishes them off, delivering them to the shore line.
Some of the work in this exhibition is accidental, found material, whilst other work is more deliberate and intentional. From detailed recollections of space to archival collage and sculpture, without the ship of Castelo Branco being a wonderful and charming host, none bf this would have been possible. It has been easy to find beauty in a place like Portugal, as life oozes from every corner of it, making he artistic process flow like water - beautifully frictionless.
Words by Beau Langmead