Deadline for applications: 15 June 2026
The residency will be conducted in Portuguese!
CEARTE invites craftspeople, artists, and designers to apply for a new creative residency dedicated to contemporary experimentation with plant fibres. Scheduled from 7 to 11 July 2026, the programme takes place at the Polo de Formação de Semide, located within the historic Monastery of Santa Maria de Semide in Portugal.
Theme and Approach
During this five-day immersion, participants will explore the concept of the mask to reflect on identity, transformation, ancestry, and territory. The residency encourages creators to move beyond traditional forms. By working with materials like bulrush, esparto grass, and willow, artists will develop new aesthetic approaches rooted in ancestral techniques. Proposed pieces can be sculptural, functional, or experimental, but they must respect maximum dimensions of 50 by 50 by 50 cm.
Mentorship
Master craftswomen Cristina Fonseca and Maria Pratas will guide the initiative, providing daily technical and artistic mentoring.
Participant Profile and Eligibility
The call is open to ten individuals who possess strong technical skills in basketry and plant fibres. Applications are welcome from all that are eligable to work in Portugal (e.g. residents of Portugal, residents of the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland and more).
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Applicants must demonstrate a capacity for innovation and conceptual coherence.
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The programme requires full availability between 7 and 11 July 2026.
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Applications must be submitted individually.
Residency Conditions and Artworks
Selected candidates are required to pay a registration fee of 100€. CEARTE provides a comprehensive support package that includes:
- Accommodation in a double room with private bathroom;
- 3 meals per day during the residency (breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack);
- Transport between accommodation and the Polo de Formação de Semide;
- Daily technical and artistic mentoring;
- Access to the workshop space at the Polo de Formação de Semide;
- Tools, equipment and raw materials based on the selected proposals;
- Personal accident insurance;
- Certificate of participation;
- Photo and audiovisual documentation;
- Visibility on CEARTE social media channels.
Please note that all pieces developed during the residency will be temporarily retained by CEARTE for 18 months for documentation and potential exhibitions. After this period, the works will be returned to the creators, who retain full intellectual property rights at all times.
Important Dates
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Application Period: 1 to 15 June 2026
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Results Communicated: 19 June 2026
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Fee Payment: 20 to 22 June 2026
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Residency: 7 to 11 July 2026
How to Apply
Applicants must register on the CEARTE portal and sign up for the event. Following this, candidates must email their submission to geral@cearte.pt with the subject line “Open Call Entre Fibras e Entrançados”. The email must include a project proposal detailing the concept and materials (maximum 5 MB), a visual portfolio of previous work (maximum 5 MB), a CV of up to two pages, and the required consent declarations.
About the mentors
Cristina Fonseca
Originally from Lisbon and based in the Sintra area, Cristina Fonseca has been a basket weaver since 1984. She initially dedicated herself to utilitarian and decorative basketry. From 2012 onwards, she began producing small series and unique pieces, exploring other materials such as bulrush, chestnut and esparto, sometimes incorporating forestry and garden waste. She regularly leads workshops and training sessions for public and private organisations and is part of the trainer network of CEARTE and IEFP. Her work has been featured in numerous national and international exhibitions, and in 2022 she curated an exhibition on Portuguese Popular Basketry at the International Basketry Fair in Salt, Catalonia, Spain.
Maria Pratas
Originally from Coimbra, Maria Pratas is a textile sculptor with a degree in Visual Education. Her work focuses on the encounter between textile fibres and plant fibres within the ancestral techniques of coiled basketry, investigating the sculptural potential of organic and natural materials such as sisal, hemp and raffia. She develops her work in collections, in a practice that values slow manual processes and the intelligence inherent in materials. Her pieces inhabit a boundary between art, craft and textile architecture. She participates regularly in national and international exhibitions.
photo: CEARTE