WOOL | Covilhã Urban Art 2023

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 2023, WOOL celebrated another milestone in its existence: the 10th edition, which added some new features to the festival's usual program and to the streets of Covilhã.

Regarding the mural interventions, in the 10th edition and for the first time since its foundation, WOOL launched an Open Call for the painting of a mural, the winner of which was the Portuguese artist Tiago Hesp.

The artist Tiago Hesp was joined by mural interventions by Helen Bur (United Kingdom), Mariana Duarte Santos (Portugal) and Taxis (Greece). Everyone worked on the local identity of this region, inspired by traditions, gastronomy, personalities, history, etc.

Mariana Duarte Santos was tasked with paying homage to Sporting Clube da Covilhã in the centenary year of its foundation. The celebrations of this event extended to a visit to the mural, commented by Miguel Saraiva who, together with some members and friends of the club, gathered there to pay tribute to the club from Covilhã.

Another new development was the community action “WOOL VAI À ESCOLA” (WOOL GOES TO SCHOOL), in which the efforts of students from Escola Básica de São Silvestre and the artist Pitanga (Portugal) came together. The little ones were challenged to reflect and illustrate the SDG – Sustainable Development Goal nº11, which focuses on building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. The work carried out was sent to Pitanga and from their analysis, the proposal for the creation of the mural in the school building was born.

This edition was also marked by the launch of the WOOL | wall by wall, a “mobile APP to promote the WOOL Urban Art Route that, combining aspects of gamification, game development and tourist routes, allows you to offer an immersive service to those who visit the city”. The application was developed by the student from the UBI IT Department, Edgar Ladeira, and presented on the first day of the festival, where the challenge was launched to Covilhã natives and other curious people to complete the mural booklet, with prizes for the first to do so

WOOL challenged CISMA to jointly design the musical moment of the 10th edition and among different sounds, they presented “Entre Portas” at the Miradouro das Portas do Sol, a project made up of young musicians from the municipality of Covilhã and the municipality of Fundão that came together to give shape to a collective work of musical and artistic creation.

The program also included the screening of the film “Banksy Most Wanted!”, a linocut workshop led by the artist Mariana Duarte Santos, the usual guided tours and conversations, which once again aim to promote contact between WOOL, the 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."