RARA – Crafts Residency of the Azores Region is an ongoing production project by Anda&Fala – Associação Cultural, that started in 2014 in the context of its Walk&Talk – Arts Festival. It encompasses two complementary aspects: annual artistic residencies and comercialization of the products resulting from this moment under its own brand.
The residences propose the intersection between designers from different geographies and Azorean artisans, crossing traditional techniques and endogenous raw materials with different conceptual models, thus enabling the transition to new supports and products. The set of pieces/products developed during the residencies is presented under the RARA brand, marketed with the aim of valuing and innovating local artisanal production, the Açores Brand and affirming artisanal practice as a career with 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 promote the activity of artisans and validate the continuity of the residences.
With the changes in the structure and activity plan of Anda&Fala – Cultural Association, which now has a headquarters space and ongoing program (vaga – art and knowledge space, in Ponta Delgada, São Miguel), RARA gains autonomy as a project developed within the context of the Anda&Fala’s Program of Artistic Residencies. The next editions will have an extended work period, in order to enhance the research, conceptualization and execution of projects. It is also intended to extend the project to other islands, thus fulfilling the archipelagic mission evident in the name of the project. 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.
