WASHERPLANTS
Cultivar a Proximidade Lavadouros das Fontaínhas |
July 2026 Porto, Portugal |
Participatory intervention and workshop with Professor Luís Xavier and Carolina Michaelis State College students |
Through three interconnected sessions, the Cultivating Proximity project invites the community to immerse themselves in an experience that combines art, science, and ecology, transforming the Fontaínhas washhouses into a space for observation, learning, and collective action.
Led by the artistic duo Landra and Professor Luís Xavier, this activity proposes a practical approach to the invisible ecosystems that inhabit the washhouse water. The journey begins with the discovery of microscopic life present in this habitat. Through microscopic observation and the participatory analysis of water quality, participants will be invited to learn about the organisms that live there and better understand their ecological characteristics. From this joint investigation, the most suitable plant species for a phytoremediation process—a natural technique that uses plants to improve water quality and restore the balance of ecosystems—will be identified.
The journey will culminate in a public presentation of the work developed, revealing the results of this collective experience through a living installation where scientific observation, ecological intervention, and artistic creation intersect. More than a series of workshops, this is a proposal for continuous participation, where each session contributes to the next and where the process gains meaning in its entirety. Therefore, participation in all three meetings is strongly recommended, allowing participants to follow all phases of the experience, from the initial discovery to the final moment of sharing with the community.
Among microscopes, washing plants, microorganisms, and shared knowledge, this activity invites us to look at the washing places not only as historical heritage, but as living spaces capable of hosting new forms of relationship between people, nature, and knowledge.