Estúdio do alhures crosses the fields of art, ethnography and heritage to develop projects, exhibitions and publications. Using concepts and data collection techniques from the social sciences – such as archival research, participant observation and interviews – we conduct research and consultancy, focusing on ethnographic heritage and vernacular artistic practices.
At the same time, we develop our own projects, based on disciplinary intersections and experimentation, focusing primarily on the contemporary transformations of objects and vernacular practices. Departing from anthropology and art history, we seek to inhabit a place of intersection between the human sciences and the artistic dimension, theoretical reflection and cultural production.
The name studio of elsewhere claims, in the first place, a place of experimentation for the human sciences, since the studio is a space usually destined to the practice of architecture and design. The term elsewhere, which means “somewhere, in an uncertain part”, seeks to refer to a nomadic territory, consistent with the vernacular cultural practices that it seeks to document and problematize.
Our studio is based in Casa do Vinhal – Associação Cultural, located in Gondomar, Porto, Portugal. We have a small library specialized in Portuguese vernacular crafts, which might be visited by appointment. We also work as a crafts gallery, specialized in traditional pottery and jewelry.
You can contact us via info.alhures@gmail.com
Estúdio do alhures was created by Maria Manuela Restivo. Luciano Moreira and Vera Carmo are frequent collaborators.
Maria Manuela Restivo is an anthropologist and researcher in the field of vernacular artistic practices. She holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Coimbra, a Master in Museology from the University of Porto and a PhD in Heritage Studies/ Art History from the same university, with the support of the Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). Her PhD, developed under the supervision of Professors Alice Duarte and Anthony Shelton, focused on the construction of the category of folk art in Portugal, tracing the main networks and narratives arising from this field. In 2016 she founded the project Arte Popular de Ana a Zé, dedicated to the documentation of Portuguese popular art, and in 2018 Estúdio do alhures, whose aim is to cross the fields of academic research and cultural production.
Luciano Moreira was born in Porto in 1982. He received his PhD in Digital Media from the University of Porto in 2021. He studied at the University of Coimbra, where he got his degree in Psychology in 2005, and at the University of Porto, where he got his MSc in Psychology, in 2012. He is a researcher at the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto. He teaches at the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto. His areas of interest include digital humanities, science communication, science and technology studies, social representations, and scientific research methods.
Vera Carmo (Porto, 1980) is an independent curator and researcher. Doctoral student in Fine Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (FBAUP). Master in Museological and Curatorial Studies (2013) and Degree in Plastic Arts-Sculpture (2004) from the same institution. Professor at the University of Maia (ISMAI). He is on the board of Rampa (www.rampa.pt). His work has focused on the history of the moving image, highlighting his participation in the research project CineVideoArt – Catalogo of Films and Videos by Portuguese Artists (2019-2020) or the coordination of production in the exhibition Beam of light: Sculpture Projected, Cinema Exposto (Centro de Arte Oliva, São João da Madeira, 2022). Of his curatorial projects, What do U want 4 Xmas stand out? (Rampa, Porto, 2020-2021), Transubstantiation (Poste Video-Art, Porto, 2020-2022) and the co-curatorship of the exhibition Guerrilla Shout-Out! Alice Neel’s Graphic File (Rampa, Porto, 2022).