This page shows residents and their projects in 2026 until May.
Other pages show residents and their projects in 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018,  2017,  2016, 2015,  2014,  2012 and 2013  and 2004-2011. 

On 20 May 2026, got a new board. This page tells about residents in and their projects until that date.

Some residencies were running at that date: Johanna Jarry (writer; Canada), Janke Klompmaker (visual artist; Holland), Wilma Geldof (writer; Holland); these residencies and all next ones will be discussed on  www.Obrasresidencies.com 

Ingrid Simons (Holland) stayed for 10 weeks. During her residency, she created fifteen medium and large sized oil paintings. In addition, she worked with ceramics and attended a textile workshop in Araiolos.
On May 17, Ingrid gave a live performance: she painted a 5-meter-long scroll with Indian ink while contemplating the nature surrounding her. It was an impressive, nearly spiritual experience. After the performance, Elisa de Mira and Jose Rodrigues sang a few Cantas Alentejanas.

Marina Lacroix (Holland) chose an autobiographical starting point for her project. For almost two years, she has been suffering from Long COVID, resulting in a life cut off from everybody and everything, lived at an extremely slow pace. At the same time, she reflected on whether illness could be understood as a form of breaking, and breaking as a form of birth. Human beings are capable of beginning anew, doing the unexpected, surprising others, and breaking free from what seems set in stone.
This became Marina’s realisation. She reflected on her recent past with a great deal of humour and a positive spirit. The project evolved into a contemplation on the perception of time and connection, rather than a therapeutic or autobiographical exercise. The result was a wonderful outdoor exhibition.

Maya Koenig (Israel) works with photography and painting in her artistic practice and is currently experimenting with embroidery. Her inspiration, however, is primarily conceptual. She is fascinated by imperfection and explores the nature of memory.
She often begins with a photographic portrait and then paints the scene. In the painting, however, the figure has disappeared, and the background has become largely abstract. Some of the images in the slideshow are taken from her website.

Modris Svilāns (Latvia) just published a video recording of his sound performance, presented on the Open Studio on 21 September 2025. He used field recordings from marble quarries, nature around the residence, and sound of kinetic works that he created for this purpose. His performance was a 23-minutes improvisation of mixing the sounds of the field recordings and the sonic structure of the kinetic objects.  His audience was deeply impressed.

Martin Schepkens (Belgium) is inspired by the way time leaves marks on matter. He worked with old fabrics, which he impregnated with charcoal, ash, sand, and clay. Ash, for instance, bears witness to what once was and no longer is.
Martin took full advantage of the large studio — a unique opportunity for him — by creating monumental canvases and exhibiting them as one big installation. Their scale and spatial presence, the absence of colour, the three-dimensional quality, and the intriguing marks on the surfaces left a deep impression on everyone.

Niv Harman is currently composing a symphonic piano concerto, tentatively titled When the Oaks Sing. It is inspired by the majesty and mythical presence of the oaks that surround the residency. He gave an informal concert to share his preliminary work, and everyone was deeply moved.

Sanneke Griepink (Holland) was inspired by the majesty of centuries-old oak and olive trees, as well as by the millennia-old megalithic monuments. She also experimented with gel printing in combination with various types of paper. Especially the leaves of the Grevillea tree did a good job. Sanneke was so productive that she needed to pay for 25 kg extra kilograms of luggage on her flight home.

During her 2023 residency, Jil Guyon (USA) created Threshold, a black-and-white short film about a woman imprisoned in a castle. It tells a story of captivity and despair, but also of the longing for freedom, survival, seduction, and power.
The shooting was in the fortress of Evoramonte.
It resulted in a stunningly beautiful work of art, that  was screened on 7 June 2026 at the Abrons Art Center in Manhattan, New York City. Earlier in 2026 this work was selected at Pollen: Video Spells: Brooklyn (Honerable mention), and the Tokyo Women Film Festival (semi-finalist).
We are delighted to have contributed to the organisation and production of this project.

Jil also took part in a photo shoot at a marble quarry. The photography and videography were done by Ludger, while Jil animated the footage using KineMaster 2.0.

At his artist talk and final presentation, Manuel Leromain (France) made a beautiful statement on what he tried to achieve and what the impact of the surroundings were:  “I have the feeling that this environment helps bring out a light that is hidden inside us. These moments feel honest, beautiful, joyful, and full of meaning. It is as if our soul, mind, and body come together in harmony, simply to create. From this light comes a deep sense of balance, with many colors and subtle shades. That is exactly what I try to capture in my paintings.”

OBRAS 25!

This year, OBRAS is celebrating 25 years of activity. As we look ahead, we are pleased to know that OBRAS continues its work under the guidance of a new management team. A careful and well-planned transition has ensured minimal impact on the residencies and artistic program. 

Evora European Capital of Culture 2027

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Evora will become the European Capital of Culture in 2027. 
The theme of this event is “vagar”, which means wander without hurry. It refers to the vision that “slow” can bring better quality in daily live.  

Several former OBRAS residents submitted a project proposal, but have not been very successful so far. 

The competition was extremely strong: fewer than 4%: out of 1,200 applications were accepted. There are undoubtedly valid reasons for the selection, but the focus appears to be heavily on the performing arts, a field for which the OBRAS residents did not apply. And cultural initiatives outside Evora is largely neglected.

For us is disappointing to conclude that other goals of Évora_27—such as attention to landscape, heritage, sustainable development, and activities outside Évora—are nearly not selected.

One project proposal that was not selected: Mármore: uma pedra Património,  will get a second change in another setting.