A gateway to the Portuguese countryside. This is how the Aldeias do Xisto present themselves in the Pavilion of Portugal at the CMAC- Carroussel des Métiers d'Art et de Création 2018, taking place at the Carroussel du Louvre in Paris from 6 to 9 December. This year, Portugal is the featured country, and the national participation is organised by AICEP - the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade.
Under the protocol signed in June 2016, AICEP and the Aldeias do Xisto brought the Beirão territory to Paris, a sure investment in the promotion of Portugal's external image, through the marketing of goods and services produced in the interior of the country and the vitalisation of its quintessentially rural identity.
The brand Aldeias do Xisto is a collective entity that holds a vision for the future in this territory. The Craft+Design+Identity trilogy of projects, Água Musa, L4Craft, and Agricultura Lusitana in the CMAC 2018 edition represent experiences that summon knowledge and mobilise people to reinvent places from their intrinsic characteristics.
The Aldeias do Xisto are also a living laboratory, able to attract, welcome and retain people of all nationalities through initiatives in technical, scientific, cultural and artistic fields.
Over the years and through various projects, this territory has come to be known as a haven for reinvention and experimentation with culture, in a vision of the future based on a network of camaraderie and cooperation, as well as knowledge.
Promoting and supporting craft based on these principles represents the Aldeias do Xisto’s commitment to creativity, the nurturing of culture, and a relationship with nature and spaces.
The creation of networks for building and sharing knowledge is of utmost importance in the search for new ways to promote the Aldeias do Xisto Territories as a quality destination for living and creating.
It was based on this strategic vision and line of action that the Água Musa - L4Craft - Agricultura Lusitana trilogy was launched, inviting craftsmen, schools and designers to immerse themselves in the reality of the Aldeias do Xisto.
Some of the pieces from these three projects will be on display at Portugal's stand in the Carrousel des Métiers D'Art et de Création 2018.
Água Musa
Water was the inspiring theme for this new relationship Craft+Design+Nature which, by allowing a connection between the handicrafts, the know-how and the culture of the project, provided an innovative direction in the reasoning and narratives of the contemporary pieces that the Aldeias do Xisto want to implement, and are the reflection of a concern with the recovery of identities and the renewal of communities at the service of humanbeings. Água Musa was attended by 18 artisans representing 14 craft workshops.
L4Craft
The L4Craft project was developed from the essence of spaces, and was based on a process in which the resident creators invited other craftspeople to jointly develop new pieces that represent and convey the spirit of said spaces.
Agricultura Lusitana
The trilogy that began with the Água Musa and L4Craft projects, under the themes craft + design + nature + territory + identity, was complemented by the Agricultura Lusitana project - based on the reality of the Aldeias do Xisto and Portuguese culture, immersing itself in the values of the region and the Portuguese spirit.
"Cultivate your culture", the project's slogan, which draws attention to the rural culture in the Aldeias do Xisto, which we want to continue to respect and protect. The project involved around 150 people, including craftsmen, designers, teachers and students from 9 Portuguese design colleges.
