WOOL | Covilhã Urban Art 2021
Being the direct result of two great passions shared between Lara Seixo Rodrigues, Pedro Seixo Rodrigues and Elisabet Carceller, one for Graffiti / Street Art and other for Covilhã and its history closely related with the textile industry, WOOL | Covilhã Urban Art (*), appeared in 2011 as the first event with these characteristics in Portugal.
Since its foundation, WOOL** set out to use several walls in the city historic center as a support for interventions of urban artists, with the aim of:
- pay tribute to the history of this city as a way of rediscovering its identity;
- awake the interest of the community for Culture and Contemporary Art;
- rehabilitate neglected urban areas through Art, making it accessible to all, in a clear act of democratization of Art and informal learning;
- involve the community in all interventions and actions, so that they take them as their own, as their heritage.
These goals promoted the design of a specific and unique format and modus operandi, that made possible (and still does) to introduce these new expressions of Contemporary Art as tools capable of great social, cultural, economic and urban transformations in a community.
In a year celebrating a decade of existence, WOOL presented a more muscular programme, in space and time, with more than 40 initiatives from different areas and disciplines, namely, mural painting, artistic residencies, exhibitions, a film set to music, guided tours , community actions among other activities.
The mural interventions presented, as usual, two national and two international artists: Colectivo Licuado (Uruguay), Marta Lapeña (Spain), Daniel Eime and TheCaver (Portugal), who worked on local identity and at this point we have to highlight the intervention of Colectivo Licuado (Uruguay) which celebrated the 140th anniversary of the 1st Scientific Expedition to Serra da Estrela (promoted by the Lisbon Geography Society, 1881) and the work of Daniel Eime, who worked on the theme of the (anonymous) role of women in the secular wool industry in Covilhã.
The artistic residencies were in charge of the photographer and visual artist Raquel Belli, who developed a community work that was later exhibited in several windows of local commerce spaces in Covilhã, reinforcing the visitation circuit by the approximately 40 pieces that currently make up the WOOL Tour ; and Nuno Sarmento, who draw the 10 years of WOOL along a single 27m roll of paper.
After having participated in the 2020 edition of WOOL, the catalan artist Jofre Oliveras returned to Covilhã again with the award-winning photographer Lucía Herrero to continue the work started the previous year and together they presented the exhibition CRISIS, which had the support of Guarda 2027, candidate region for European Capital of Culture in 2027. CRISIS, intended to be a reflection on the numerous environmental, social or economic crises that, being global, also comprise countless impacts on the 'local'.
Aheneah carried out the community action ‘Juntos, ponto por ponto’, in which more than 30 people participated.
In terms of musical highlights, the WOOL 2021 programme included a musical movie, that is, the sound of the centenary film "Covilhã Industrial, Pitoresca and its surroundings" (Artur Costa de Macedo, 1921) was performed live by the band First Breath After Coma and the development of a Sound Tour, which, under the supervision of Daniel Tavares Nicolau aka Defski, aims to "capture the aura that emanates from each work and convey the heart of WOOL". In addition to the collection of textures collected “in loco” in the city of Covilhã and recordings captured during the creative processes, details, auditory windows, fragments, voices and murmurs, Defski invited several international and national musicians for the creation of these 10 soundscapes, among which we highlight Sylvester Onyejiaka (member of the New Power Generation band from Prince between 2012 and 2014), Matt DeMerritt (piper who has worked over the years with De La Soul), Sam Merrick (drummer for Charles Bradley and Sharon Jones) and Hugo Correia from Trás-os-Montes.
In addition to these actions, the programme also included an urban art workshop in cross stitch, a concert by Joana Guerra, guided tours and talks, which once again aim to promote contact between WOOL, artists and the community.
* the name is a pun between the word WOOL and its near-homophone WALL.
** co-organized with Formas Efémeras
*** WOOL was once again distinguished with the EFFE label: facilitated by the European Festivals Association, which consists of festivals that stand for artistic quality and have a significant impact on the local, national and international level. "Your festival received the following feedback from the International Jury and Hub Experts: It is considered by experts a thoughtful approach to the region's industrial heritage: celebrates it on giving it a new meaning and a new value in a post-industrial context. Although still working on a small scale, this festival has already shown artistic and community-involvement potential. However, experts suggest further development for European and international engagement."
Public Art Event
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Location
Covilhã (historic center), Portugal
Artists
Colectivo Licuado (Uruguay), Marta Lapeña (Spain), Daniel Eime (Portugal) and TheCaver (Portugal)
Artistic Residencies
Nuno Sarmento (Portugal) and Raquel Belli (Portugal)
Community Action
‘Juntos, ponto por ponto’ with Aheneah (Portugal)
Workshop
cross stitch urban art by Aheneah (Portugal)
Exhibition
‘Crisis’ by Jofre Oliveras and Lucía Herrero (Spain)
Film Concert Live
'Covilhã industrial, pitoresca e seus arredores' by First Breath After Coma (Portugal)
Sound Tour
Defski (Portugal)
Concert
Joana Guerra (Portugal)
Guided Tours
oriented by organization element
Artwork created
12
Artists: Colectivo Licuado (Expedition to Serra da Estrela)
Artist: Marta Lapeña
Artist: TheCaver (Ser Serrano)
Artist: Daniel Eime (Trama)
Artistic Residency: Nuno Sarmento
Artistic Residency: Raquel Belli (Convergences)
Community Action: ‘Juntos, ponto por ponto’ with Aheneah (Bem Haja)
Workshop: cross stitch urban art by Aheneah
Exhibition: ‘Crisis’ by Jofre Oliveras and Lucía Herrero
Film Concert Live: 'Covilhã industrial, pitoresca e seus arredores' by First Breath After Coma
Sound Tour: Defski (https://soundcloud.com/wool-covilha-arte-urbana)
Concert: Joana Guerra
Guided Tours
AVE | Advertising Value Equivalency € 977.338 national
Press highlights:
P3 _ 'Na Covilhã, o Wool faz as paredes falar há dez anos’, 02/07/2021
Mutante Magazine _ ‘WOOL 2021 | COVILHÃ’, 21/04/2021
Público _ ‘Pela décima vez, o Wool vai levar arte urbana à Covilhã’, 15/06/2021
Briefing _ ‘WOOL fica Naïf’, 20/04/2021
Observador _ ‘WOOL - Covilhã Arte Urbana celebra dez anos com programação "musculada"’, 22/04/2021
Público _ ‘Na Covilhã, o Wool faz as paredes falar há dez anos’, 02/07/2021
SAPO 24 _ ‘WOOL - Covilhã Arte Urbana celebra dez anos com programação "musculada"’, 22/04/2021
Visão _ ‘WOOL – Covilhã Arte Urbana celebra dez anos com programação “musculada”’, 22/04/2021
Sábado _ ‘Covilhã: a arte vai estar na rua’, 31/05/2021
Evasões _ ‘O festival de arte urbana mais antigo em Portugal está de volta à Covilhã’, 02/06/2021
SAPO Viagens _ ‘PARA VISITAR E APRECIAR. A ARTE URBANA NO CENTRO HISTÓRICO DA COVILHÃ’, 12/04/2021
Boa Cama Boa Mesa _ ‘Wool Fest: redescobrir a Covilhã em 10 etapas’, 25/06/2021
Jornal O Interior _ ‘WOOL de regresso às paredes e ruas da Covilhã’, 25/06/2021
Glam Magazine _ ‘WOOL | COVILHÃ ARTE URBANA CELEBRA 10 ANOS…’, 21/04/2021
Gerador _ ‘Wool Festival: Arte Urbana regressa em junho à Covilhã’, 04/05/2021
Urbi et Orbi _ ‘Festival WOOL celebra 10 anos na Covilhã’, 05/05/2021
A Notícia _ ‘Wool Fest – 10 anos de Arte Urbana na Covilhã’, 15/06/2021
Revista Rua _ ‘WOOL, O FESTIVAL DE ARTE URBANA DE PORTUGAL REGRESSA À COVILHÃ’, 18/06/2021
Beira.pt _ ‘Festival de Arte Urbana Wool invade a cidade da Covilhã’, 23/06/2021
Viva Serra _ ‘Wool Festival terá “mais de 40 iniciativas em diversas áreas”’, 16/06/2021