We arrived at the beautiful and rustic town of Montemor-O-Novo excited and ready to dive into the work at hand; starting a new creation. For us the town became a place of shared concentration and we found the stillness of it fruitful and inspiring.
 

The convent was located up on a hill, offering a practical and stimulating environment for our working group to explore and take in the heat, dryness and vibrancy of the nature around us. We explored the area surrounding the convent, as well as the indoor spaces in the studios of the convent, which we found not at all black and sterile but, rather, vivid, vibrant and light. These felt experiences remained with us throughout our stay, affecting our working, and translated into material that begun to mould the new creation.

It was fantastic to be able to sleep, eat, and work, all in the same space. This offered optimal circumstances for us to observe the coalescing of our interests and to just be with each other. For example, we were able to inspire each other and create conditions for some of the physical aspects of our work through our shared dining moments in the residency.

For me, it was interesting to observe the part ‘feeling’ plays in formulating thinking. Felt connections with the space and the experiences we shared during the three-week period became important factors in the work.

In the residency, we became aware of the core dynamic of a new creation that relies on the formulations of experiences.

The people hosting us in residency, Pia, Maria, Diago and Inez helped and supported us in many ways. The atmosphere in the residency was pressure-free and we felt like we had a lot of freedom to work, rest and eat, whenever and however we wanted to.

I am thankful for SKR, Pia Kramer, and Taike for this great opportunity to spark this project that we call ZOE into a great start.

Team members: Sara Gurevitsch, Hanne Jurmu, Salla Rytövuori, Jenna Broas, Tom Lönnqvist, and Sofia Palillo