Urban Art "Escadas da Portela" - Póvoa de Lanhoso, Portugal

This project was developed for the program- artist residency "No Minho não há melhor aldeia que a minha" with the support and collaboration - Zetgallery.  

This program pretends to embrace and promote art and culture in the Portuguese region, Minho. 

I was challenged to make an urban intervention on the village Póvoa de Lanhoso. During the fieldwork I decided to embrace the historical and cultural identity of the village into the project.The stairs that i was challenged to paint are a medieval children's tale, tells a story and a path like a game, and every step has its symbol,  identity and mark. I wanted to put the sky on earth by telling on the stars the centuries and the generations that passed by. D. Teresa imprisoned in the castle in the XII century; the bee that represents the feminine, the queen,Maria da Fonte;  the lion represents the monarchy and the patriarchal, or the yellow hearts that are the filigrana art "O Coração do Minho é de Ouro".  All of these symbols represents the historical heritage of the village.

The stairs represents the path into the divine, the enlightening, the wisdom and the spirituality. Each step has its meaning but they are only a passage, never the final destination. 

This project had the enclosure of bringing together the community and the village into the urban intervention. The locals as volunteers, their kindness and the neighbors's chats made the project completed, by letting everyone be part of it. 

This project had the wonderful technical support of the spanish artist, Branda. 

Curator by Helena Mendes Pereira.  

2022