Other Lands Other Sounds

Other Lands Other Sounds is an intensive residential cross-arts programme that brings together musicians, visual artists, performers, and movement artists for twelve days of collaborative creation in northern Portugal.

Can you introduce your residency?
Other Lands Other Sounds is organized by Curiosa Ltd, the program creates a temporary artistic community where participants live, work, and experiment together. Through workshops, improvisation sessions, collaborative projects, and mentoring, artists explore new ways of working across disciplines. The residency culminates in a public sharing of site-specific performances and installations created in dialogue with the historic space and local context.

Can you present your project?
Our project explores how temporary artistic communities can foster experimentation, collaboration, and personal artistic growth. We bring together artists from diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds to exchange practices and develop new work through collective processes. Rather than focusing on individual projects, participants create new interdisciplinary works in response to the group, the place, and the moment. Through facilitation, creative exercises, and shared reflection, the program encourages risk-taking, curiosity, and the development of collaborative artistic skills that participants can carry into their future practice.

Can you present the residency program?
The program takes place over twelve days in a historic mansion near Porto and combines workshops, collaborative creation, reflection, and community life. Participants engage in music and improvisation workshops, movement sessions, ensemble-building exercises, skill-sharing, and creative briefs that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. Artists work in small groups to develop new works that respond to the space and to each other’s practices. Mentoring sessions and group discussions support reflection on the creative process. The residency culminates in a public sharing where audiences experience performances and installations throughout the building.

What kind of artists can apply to your program?
Other Lands Other Sounds is aimed at artists from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. We believe diversity makes the ensemble richer and the art more interesting. You might be early-career, mid-career, or long-established. You may make a living from your art, or practice alongside other work.

What do you offer to the artist in residence ?
We offer artists an immersive environment dedicated to creative exploration, collaboration, and reflection. Participants receive facilitation and mentoring from experienced artists, access to diverse workspaces, and opportunities to experiment across disciplines. The program includes workshops, creative exercises, and collaborative projects designed to expand artistic practice. Artists also benefit from living and working within a supportive temporary community, where dialogue, exchange, and shared learning are central. Accommodation, meals, and access to studios and rehearsal spaces are provided to allow participants to focus fully on the creative process.

What do you ask of the artists during their residency?
Artists are asked to actively participate in the collaborative process that defines the residency. Participants are expected to engage in workshops, creative exercises, group discussions, and interdisciplinary projects throughout the program. Openness to experimentation, improvisation, and working across artistic disciplines is essential. Rather than focusing on individual projects, artists are encouraged to contribute to collective creation and to respond creatively to the space, the group, and the process. Participants are also expected to share their practice, support fellow artists, and take part in the final public presentation of the collaborative works developed during the residency.

Do you think your residency has an impact on the cultural and social context of your city or country?
Yes. The residency fosters cultural exchange by bringing together artists from diverse disciplines, countries, and backgrounds to collaborate in a rural Portuguese context. Through shared creative processes, participants develop new interdisciplinary works that respond to the space, the local environment, and the community. The final public sharing invites local audiences to experience performances and installations within the historic setting, creating opportunities for dialogue between visiting artists and the surrounding community. In this way, the residency contributes to cultural exchange, artistic experimentation, and the visibility of collaborative contemporary art practices.

Do you think art residencies are important? For what reasons?
Art residencies are important because they create the time, space, and supportive environments artists need to experiment, reflect, and develop their practice. By temporarily stepping away from everyday pressures, artists can explore new ideas, collaborate with others, and take creative risks that might not be possible in their usual working contexts. Residencies also foster international exchange, build creative communities, and encourage interdisciplinary dialogue. These experiences often lead not only to new artworks, but also to lasting collaborations and new ways of thinking about artistic practice.