Led by Nómada Cerámica (Julieta Bilbao & Martín Merlos). An intensive gathering for artists wanting a visceral experience of ancient pottery. Clay as living memory, exploring its sonic, ritual, and performative possibilities.

Sao Pedro do Corval has been a center of pottery since humans learned that clay has miraculous properties. We will be processing clay sourced on site and wood fire in our purpose built bottle kiln. Bring your own sonic project or choose from a variety of pre Columbian musical instruments used in shamanic ceremonies.

J&M are inspirational artists, musicians and playful hands on teachers.

Heartbeat of Clay is structured as an intensive space for creation, practical research, and curatorial support.

Over the 2 weeks, the focus will be on studio work, the development of individual pieces, and the collective exchange as a mode of growth.

The process is structured around five key components:

• Intensive Ceramic Practice: Each artist will create a personal work insonic ceramics, installation, or performative devices, with technical and conceptual guidance. We will work with hand-building techniques, wood firing, and materials sourced from the territory. The studio will be the beating heart of the residency—a shared space for making, dialogue, and experimentation.

• Artistic Support and Collective Exchange: There will be regular group sessions, feedback rounds, and collective reflections. The aim is to nourish personal searches, open up questions, and offer tools to deepen the connection between body, artwork, and context.

• Site-Specific Explorations and Local Connections: The residency takes place in São Pedro do Corval, the largest pottery center in Portugal. We will visit a local pottery workshop to learn about traditional practices and connect with the living history of clay in the region. This experience will open a dialogue between contemporary art practice and ancestral knowledge.

• Ritual Firing:
  The final wood firing will be conceived as a symbolic, collective act—an essential moment of transformation and closure. More than just a technical step, the firing becomes a passage, a ritual of transmutation.

• Performative Activation and Documentation:
  The process will close with an intimate performative installation.
  Each artist will activate their work (through actions, gestures, sounds, or spatial interventions) in dialogue with others.
  The visual documentation will be an integral part of the project—not just a record, but a poetic extension of the experience.

Artists working in ceramics, contemporary art, performance, or theater—interested in exploring the intersection between body, clay, ritual, and territory.
No specific technical experience is required, but openness to collaborative processes and poetic/material experimentation is essential.

Max. 8 participants.

Come join us for 10 days of living history. Discover how simple techniques can make complex sonic objects. Enjoy Alentejo, learn experientially, play with clay in small group of artist.

Price per person: 1850€

Includes Breakfast and light lunch.

All materials and use of tools.

Playground Alentejo, São Pedro do Corval, Portugal

Date: 24/10-4/11/25

Group size: max 8 participants