Artistic Residencies. Art and Gastronomy in Alentejo

COMER COM OS OLHOS is a programme that brings together contemporary visual arts and Alentejo’s gastronomic heritage, promoting new ways of thinking about, creating and representing Portuguese cultural heritage.
This first edition took “scarcity” as its starting point for reflection and creation, challenging artists and food professionals to explore the limits and possibilities of absence — of resources, references and narratives — as a catalyst for new cultural practices.
The project took the form of three two-week artistic residencies, each bringing together a visual artist and a food professional (chef, cook, food designer or critic). The residencies were divided into two stages: a first week of exchange and learning, including workshops, talks, study visits, showcookings and tastings, followed by a second week of individual work with curatorial support.
Each residency culminated in a public presentation in the form of a dinner-as-artwork, bringing together artistic practice, food and collective experience.
The programme concluded with a group exhibition and printed publication at Plato Gallery in Porto in October 2025.

#1 · 16 - 29 june 2025

Bruno Martins
Visual artist whose practice moves between audiovisual installation and live performance, exploring relationships between image, sound, light, space and technology. His work combines captured and manipulated footage, reflecting on visual language, territory and presence. He is co-founder of the Kindergarten Collective and has presented his work in various national and international venues and festivals. In 2025, he created the visual component of the performance Quimera, presented at the opening of Braga 25 – Portuguese Capital of Culture.

Francisca Paiva
Chef, food designer and teacher, working at the intersection of food and artistic practices, with a particular focus on children and young audiences. Her approach centres on creating experiences that connect people, places, stories and nature. She develops cultural mediation projects, food performances and collaborative events, using food as an artistic and relational tool to imagine sustainable futures. She regularly collaborates with artists and multidisciplinary studios, combining research, creativity and regeneration.

JANTAR OBRA#1

#2 · 30 JUNE - 13 JULY 2025

João Cruz
Photographer and videographer with a background in audiovisual communication technology. His projects explore themes such as family, territory, and the relationship between identity and geography. Through image-making, he investigates how we connect with places and memory, offering a sensitive and intimate reading of the world around us.

Inês Pando
Cook and artist whose practice has developed across photography, performance, and gastronomy. She leads food projects in Porto and Matosinhos and creates collaborative gastronomic events that explore creative and experimental approaches to cooking. Her work is rooted in the idea of sharing and in the fusion of art and cuisine as spaces for expression and transformation.

JANTAR OBRA#2

#3 · 14 - 27 JULY 2025

Mattia Papp
Multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, ceramics, and food design. His work reimagines classical myths through the lens of contemporary environmental crises and social tensions. His festive and immersive performances often revolve around shared meals, offering a critical approach to food, sustainability, and conviviality. He uses local, low-water ingredients, inviting reflection on scarcity, abundance, and regeneration.

Pedro Brito
Visual artist and pastry chef who develops his practice through the Cracked Bolos project, exploring cake as an ephemeral art object. His visual language — kitsch, nostalgic, and deeply expressive — reflects themes such as memory and ritual. He creates commissioned cakes, performances, and collaborations with brands and cultural events, proposing an expanded and sensory approach to pastry as an artistic medium.

JANTAR OBRA#3

final exhibition, plato, porto

team

Mercedes Vidal-Abarca [Córtex Frontal]
Diogo Ramalho [Galeria Plato]
Frederico Duarte e Rita João [Fabrico Próprio]
Isabel Brissos; Mireia Garcia; Janis Dellarte [Produção]
Fu Dias; Joana Calhau [Fotografia]
Studio on Pluto [Design]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Restaurante Gingão [Arraiolos]
Tasquinha da Vila [Arraiolos]
República do Petisco [Arraiolos]
Restaurante Tua Madre [Évora]
Mercearia Gadanha [Estremoz]
Taberna Quarta Feira [Évora]
Restaurante Poda [Montemor-O-Novo]
Restaurante Provenance - Gandum Village [Montemor-O-Novo]
Páteo Real [Alter do Chão]
Fita Preta
Herdade de Esporão
Tapada de Coelheiros
Virgílio Gomes
Pedro Gramaxo
Pedro Moreira
Eduardo Freitas
Confraria Gastronómica do Alentejo
Casa Mendes Gonçalves
Freixo do Meio
Pão da São [Vimieiro]
Tinctoria Natural
Chocolates Melgão [Montemor-O-Novo]
Mafalda´s Mercado [Matosinhos]
Galeria Plato [Porto]
Sr Serpa [Arraiolos]

support

Direção Geral das Artes - Ministério da Cultural
Câmara Municipal de Arraiolos
Junta de Freguesia de Arraiolos.