Greater Côa Valley residency - Wild Côa Symphony
Creative Team: ecological artist Antony Lyons, archaeologist Bárbara Carvalho and musician Jesse D. Vernon.
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| Music and sonic walk in Vale Carapito |
Situated in an an ecological regeneration area, the aim of our collaborative working
is to establish a space – real and metaphorical – for the co-creation of a
video-sonic ‘portrait’ with which people can genuinely feel an emotional
relationship, and which can continue to evolve over time.
The territory of the rewilding/restoration project is the entire Côa River catchment. Overall, our residency has responded to this by recording the journey – of both the River Côa and the creative team – from source to mouth. The creative methods include video, sound/voice recording, photography and musical composition. In the first ‘expedition’ (Autumn 2021) the primary focus of the team was on connecting with the landscape, as an elemental terrain as well as understanding some key strands of the restoration strategy (e.g. introduction of grazing horses, fire control efforts, whole valley connectivity etc.). Diverse imagery and soundscapes are being collected as content for the final Wild Côa Symphony, which encompasses the time-line from the deep past, through the present, with glimpses of future paths.
A key feature of the nature-culture story of this landscape is the rock-art that has put the Côa Valley ‘on the map’. For us (as for Rewilding Portugal) this forms a reference point for narratives of ecological restoration and human cultural expression. One team member (Carvalho) is an archaeologist very familiar with the rock art and the local landscape context.
Time/space: The idea of ‘flow’ (of time, water, wildlife, humans) is embedded in our Symphony project. We are collecting video-sonic material that contains this sense of movement: river water, storms/cloud/mist flows, movement of horses, vultures etc. Geographical and spatial scales are also part of the framing. Visually, and sonically, we are exploring the microcosmic realm, revealing hidden biophysical textures and patterns – all part of bringing fresh attention to familiar settings.
Our extensive community engagement efforts are based on prior connections, formed over a number of years of relationship-building in the Côa Valley (Lyons and Carvalho first collaborated there in
2015 as part of Heritage Futures academic research fieldwork). Within the initial residency period it was not feasible to forge community connections across the whole area – especially in the southern mountainous zone. While the full geographical area was visited and documented, participatory community activities in this phase were limited to four localities - Cidadelhe & Vilar Maior (community/village events), Pinhel (primary school workshops in a laege town) and Castelo Rodrigo (recording poetry, music event).
During Autumn 2021 we renewed some of the longer-established connections and fostered new relationships, in preparation for an intensive community-focused period in Spring 2022, when we conducted our second creative expedition, collaborating with local communities on performative/listening walking events as well as conducting sound/music workshops with primary school classes in the large town of Pinhel. The journey culminated with an artist-led ‘deep time’ walk with the community of Vilar Maior, visiting the nearby Rewilding Portugal site of Vale Carapito. Prompted by pre-recorded sounds, the group of 30 participants, of all ages, were encouraged to imaginatively explore the past, present and future of their local environment. The walking party also shared local plant knowledge, memories and stories and the event included musical interludes, with a playful impromptu choral session and a specially composed song ‘Vilar Maior, telling the story of the artists’ journey along the river valley to this historic town.
“I love being involved with the Côa Valley and its people. I went there with my guitar and was introduced to some amazing people and places. Old and new songs were sung, and sounds resonated in the moment and back across aeons of earth time into the deep roots of this landscape. I can't wait to go back - to the rocks and valleys and joyful music-sharing!” Jesse D Vernon, musician/composer with the Wild Côa Symphony team.
A big feature of the process was, and still is, the use of music to foster connections and conversations, and also to contribute to a sense of local pride and identity, helping to envisage futures where both biodiversity and communities can flourish. The creative research and landscape exploration enabled the team to connect with the biophysical character of the land. Particular highlights in this respect were the kayak-based visit to the paleolithic rock-engravings, and visiting the river's source at Foios. The assistance of Rewilding Portugal was vital and a solid working relationship has been established, forming a foundation for further co-working.
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| Pedro Prata. Director of Rewilding Portugal |
Over a number of years, the artist team has had dialogues with Rewilding Portugal (RP), and other ecological and cultural projects in the valley (e.g. ATN). In the development of the residency, we liaised with these to devise our field-based strategy, ensuring that all the key rewilding sites and partners were included in the plan. In 2021, we were introduced to a number of new sites, while shadowing the work of RP team members. During the Spring 2022 creative expedition, we also had the opportunity to attend the release of a herd of 10 Sorraia horses in Ermo das Águias. There, we made new community connections, including the opportunity to record a rare and distinctive cansao desafio (challenge song) in nearby Vale de Madeira. Some other significant highlights of working with Rewilding Portugal and partners included:
Guided visits to Vale de Madeira and Vale Carapito
The impressive visit to the vulture feeding station (Algodres; assisted by Wildlife Portugal)
Other important local stakeholders are the Côa Museum, Côa Memory Archive, Pinhel Primary School and the administrations of Vilar Maior and Cidadelhe. Some of these were new connections for us and formed the basis of very successful collaborative events, with legacies (see below). Through our with ELP/CCI we ran a workshop, in Cambridge, for the new round of ELP landscape restoration projects. Adaptations of our activity model from the Côa project were applied to illustrate some methods of creative participation. The workshop also included a discussion on more general ecological art methods, principles and approaches.
A short preview of the ‘Wild Côa Symphony’ was screened for a community audience in early September 2022, accompanied by an open-air photographic exhibition - co-organised by the project host, Rewilding Portugal. In early November 2022, the creative team will re-assemble for a film&music&poetry roadshow, revisiting the main participant communities. In Spring and Summer 2023, the full video-sonic work will be exhibited in the project area and tour to other locations, including internationally. It will be accompanied by an artist book publication and music-composition releases (all accessible online as well as via live audiences). These legacy elements are part-funded by a grant from the Heritage Futures research project.
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| photo credits: Marta Calix, Rewilding Portugal |
The artist residency is expected to continue, via a second phase, into 2024 – deepening connections and outreach. There are new supporters e.g. Bristol-Porto Twinning, Wildlife Portugal and Indagatio (commercial sponsor). Funding is also being sought from a local community fund for an ambitious Wild Côa musical cycling tour in the area in Spring 2023, led by residency team member Jesse D. Vernon. The plan is to organise future activities using this model developed in 2021-22, with a special emphasis on multi-generational, urban and immigrant aspects. The rural-based activities in Cidadelhe and Vilar Maior were also successful experiments that have helped refine a model that is transferable to similar situations. We also intend to apply similar ecological art methods in the UK, and are developing plans with CCRI, Regional History Centre (SW), National Trust and community/arts organisations.
Overall, the most gratifying aspect of the ELP residency has been the warm and generous welcome from individuals and communities of the Côa Valley. At this point, we have a strong sense of having laid the groundwork for future deeper involvements, collaborations, events and art production.
"I was born and lived all my life in this place, walking back and forward in every one of its paths, but I never took the time to pay enough attention to understand how much we could find in it, about us, about nature, about time and the changing landscape. Things that you cannot find written in a book, things of life that you can only understand by being present. Thank you so much to the Wild Côa Symphony to have encouraged us to be there and share a wonderful afternoon together in the Vale Carapito".
Mayor of Vilar Mayor, António Cunha
The residency is one of 8 sponsored by the Endangered Landscapes Programme. The Wild Côa Symphony is hosted by Rewilding Portugal, and also supported by CCRI, Arts Council England and Heritage Futures. Additional involvement from ACOA, Wildlife Portugal, Indagatio, LandCRAFT Côa and the municipalities of Cidadelhe and Vilar Maior.
