Shifting Ground — Lisboa
Medium: Participatory art, Social Design, Sculpture, Video with sound.
Shifting Ground Outro Chão is an immigrant outreach project that uses art making and the creative process as a vehicle for learning about each other (past and present) and finding a sense of place within a new culture while also retaining pride in one’s heritage. This time Shifting Ground occurred in Lisbon and was supported by the UpStart project, an initiative promoted by the Aga Khan Foundation in partnership with the University of Évora. The aim was to empower and give visibility to undervalued immigrant groups in our own community while also promoting social and cultural sustainability.
Shifting Ground's intervention in Lisbon consisted of two workshops. Firstly, at Espaço Arroios Activa, we started by explaining how ideas could be materialised into ceramic sculptures using different degrees of abstraction. Next, we introduced the same playful activity used before in Cedar Rapids — a game titled M.O.T., an acronym for Memory, Object, and Talent, whose aim is to provoke spontaneous participation and give voice to the immigrants involved. The game begins by asking participants to think about a life story, a significant object, and what they consider to be their dominant talent. This approach generates a specific commitment between newcomers and the host community based on their self-representation. Subsequently, ideas for ceramic reliefs emerge. After two-dimensional studies, cardboard mockups were made for the embossed clay sculptures. The second workshop was held at the Ceramics Research Centre in Montemor-o-Novo to develop the final pieces.
The second iteration was held at GAVE, an association in Queluz, Sintra. This time, the group explored memories related to their food culture and places of origin that materialised into sculptures with container forms.
Paula Reaes Pinto, António Gorgel Pinto and Jane Gilmor in collaboration with Engrácia Santos, Erika Jâmece, Gita Gumira, Ilda Kalenga and Tomé Cravid (1st iteration); Anabela Justino, Anabela Silva, Eduina Vaz,...(2nd iteration).
2021–22
1st iteration
2nd iteration
