RARA — Crafts Residency of the Azores Region is an ongoing production project by Anda&Fala — Cultural Association, which started in 2014 in the context of Walk&Talk — Arts Festival. It encompasses two complementary aspects: annual artistic residencies and commercialization of the products resulting from this moment under its own brand.

The residencies bring together designers from different geographies and Azorean artisans, pairing traditional techniques and local raw materials with new conceptual models to enable the transition to new supports and products. The pieces/products developed during the residencies are presented under the RARA brand, marketed to value and innovate local artisanal production, the Açores Brand, and affirm artisanal practice as a career with a future.

Over the course of nine editions, curated by designer Miguel Flor, the residency featured the participation of 26 creatives/collectives from 7 nationalities and 17 artisans/craft production entities from the Azores, resulting in the design of around 205 prototypes, 53 of which are included in the initial production catalog of the RARA brand. The profits will support artisans’ work and help ensure the continuity of the residences.

With changes to the structure and activity plan of Anda&Fala — Cultural Association, which now has a headquarters space and ongoing program (vaga — space for art and knowledge, in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel), RARA gains autonomy as a project developed within Anda&Fala’s Program of Artistic Residencies. Future editions will include an extended work period to strengthen the research, conceptualization, and execution of projects. It is also intended to extend the project to other islands, fulfilling the archipelagic mission evident in the project’s name. In this sense, the 9th edition of the residency, held between the 17th and 29th of July 2023, took place in Vila do Porto, on the island of Santa Maria, and featured the participation of Santa Maria’s artisans Aida Bairos and Marina Mendonça, who collaborated with designers Ivo Oliveira Rodrigues and Margarida Lopes Pereira under the mentorship of the curator, Miguel Flor.

Each residency culminates in a public program that includes an exhibition/presentation of the final results and is also an opportunity to promote conversations about design, economics, collaboration, and ecology.