VIANA DO ALENTEJO, PORTUGAL
RESIDENCY OF PAINTED POTTERY, VIANA DO ALENTEJO
9th to 14th of MARCH, 2026
about the RESIDENCY
In 2018, Astrid Suzano and Fatima Durkee, founders of Passa Ao Futuro, visited Viana do Alentejo as part of the mapping project of traditional arts and crafts that the non profit organization started in 2016. It was during this visit that they met the last family of potters still actively working in this picturesque Alentejo town.
This initial encounter highlighted the need for innovation in order to bring this ancestral craft to new markets that could properly value it, thereby ensuring the economic sustainability of the local pottery workshops.
Passa Ao Futuro then invited Vicara—now defunct since 2024—to become its commercial partner, and together they launched the Painted Pottery Creative Residency project (TASCO – Viana do Alentejo), whose first edition took place in July 2021.
Four illustrators were invited to work in Viana do Alentejo alongside Olaria Feleciano Agostinho (father) and Olaria Mira Agostinho (son). This collaboration resulted in a collection of traditional red clay pieces—including basins, jugs, water pitchers, plates, and other forms—reinterpreted through the decorative designs developed by the resident illustrators.
Following the residency, the pieces entered production in both pottery workshops, with the aim of promoting and commercializing them, contributing to the sustainable development of this centuries-old craft.
Since then, two further editions have taken place, in 2022 and 2023, establishing the residency as an important source of income for both workshops, as well as a means of recognizing and enhancing the value of their work.
In 2026, Passa Ao Futuro resumed the project and invited Carolina Celas, Célia Esteves, Claudia Lancaster, and Nicolau to work side by side with Feleciano Agostinho, Feliciano Mira Agostinho, Rosa Baptista, Mariana Almeida, and Elisabete Francisco.
The Artisans
FELECIANO BRANCO AGOSTINHO
Son of potter, he has been in contact with this craft from an early age. In addition to pottery, Feleciano studied mural painting and drawing, in the industrial school he attended for three years. Pottery was his favorite course. He finished school in 1956, he then went to work with his father until he joined the army, after which, he returned to his homeland to continue his craft. In 1982 he opened his own workshop where he had 14 people working with him. They made alguidares, pots, barrels, vases, alcatruzes, etc. At that time, he also hired several women to do traditional decorative painting. Feleciano does not paint the pieces he does but, very proudly, says that it was he who draws the patterns they painted. Nowadays he works alone on the wheel and has a few women working with him decorating the pieces under his instruction.
FELICIANO AGOSTINHO and ROSA MIRA AGOSTINHO
Feliciano, worked in the father's workshop for almost 20 years. It was with him and his grandfather who learned to make traditional pottery at the age of 13. In 2004 he opened the Olaria Mira Agostinho along with the woman, Rosa Mira Agostinho, where they divide the tasks according to tradition: Feliciano is the potter and Rosa paints, she is an artist at heart and trains other ceramic painters in the region. Together they make a wide variety of utility and decorative pieces. They are both interested in experimenting with new techniques and designs.
THE DESIGNERS
CAROLINA CELAS
Carolina Celas lives and works in Lisbon. She graduated in Design and later completed a Master’s degree in Visual Communication in London. Since then, she has worked as a freelance illustrator across different media. The poetry and harmony present in her work invite children and adults to perceive boundless places, exploring detail, humor, and the surreal through natural and spatial elements. She is internationally recognized and published, having participated in several solo and group exhibitions.
CÉLIA ESTEVES
Célia Esteves, born in Viana do Castelo in 1981, lives and works in Porto. She holds a Master’s degree in Drawing and Printmaking Techniques from FBAUP and a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Design from ESAD. She worked as a technician in the FBAUP Printmaking workshops (2007–2012) and founded Rug by GUR in 2012. Through this brand, she collaborates with artists and illustrators to reinvent traditional Portuguese rugs. She has participated in national and international exhibitions and projects.
CLÁUDIA LANCASTER
Claudia Lancaster, from Almada, works as a graphic designer and moves within artistic and cultural contexts, seeking to engage with different ways of being, imagining, and reflecting. Manuality is present in her work and experience, with gesture playing an important role in graphic development.
NICOLAU
Nicolau, from Cerveira, 1986, has produced graphic design and illustration work for clients such as Kosmicare, Abraço, Quercus, Casa da Música, Bibliotecas de Lisboa, Esporão, and Culturgest, among many others. Through the publisher Pato Lógico, he illustrated two award-winning books. He has been researching playful and collaborative drawing, both in Desenháculo (live drawn dialogues) and in workshops with adults and children. In music, he is part of doismileoito, has accompanied Nuno Prata live, and released Território Marcha Lenta (2024) as Domenico Laudas. Together with Joana Estrela, he created the animated-forms piece Dois Ratos, a co-production of Lu.Ca Teatro Luís de Camões, combining drawing, narrative, music, and songwriting.
TEAM
Curatorship, artistic direction and follow up - Astrid Suzano
Production & follow up - João Xará
Photo & video - Inês Silva Sá
Graphic Design - Catarina Carreiras
PR - O Apartamento
