Bruno Mesquita, Marisa Fernandes, Sandra Teixeira and the duo formed by Maria Amaro and Calgon are the artists selected for the twelfth edition of Summer Laboratories. During the summer months, they will undertake artistic residencies to develop new works, which will later be presented to the public at gnration (Braga), CAAA Centro para os Assuntos da Arte e Arquitectura (Guimarães) and Solar – Galeria de Arte Cinemática (Vila do Conde).
This year, the local artistic creation support programme received around 45 applications. The selection process was carried out by a jury composed of Luís Fernandes (gnration, Braga), Maria Luís Neiva (CAAA Centro para os Assuntos da Arte e Arquitectura) and Mário Micaelo (Solar, Vila do Conde).
The selected projects will be developed through artistic residencies and later presented publicly as part of the cultural programmes of each venue.
Bruno Mesquita is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher. Holding a Master’s degree in Media Arts from the University of Minho, he is currently pursuing a PhD in Fine Arts at FBAUP and is a researcher in the European project Ecologies of Care (DUT), after previously contributing to MigraMediaActs (CECS/FCT). His practice combines media art and critical theory through installations and video works, exploring borders and collective memory in order to challenge dominant narratives. His work has been presented in renowned contexts such as the Gwangju Media Art Festival, Porto Design Biennale, Semibreve Festival (2025) and The Wrong Biennale (2025–26).
Maria Amaro is a double bassist with a degree in classical music. She has collaborated with artists such as Circuit des Yeux, Get The Blessing and Calcutá. In 2026, she begins a solo project in which she brings the double bass and voice into experimental realms of repetition and transformation. Carla Gonçalves / Calgon, a programmer since 2018, explores visual performance. Her project focuses on a unique universe of analogue video mixing that is autonomous and adaptive, redefining the audiovisual experience in symbiosis with sound.
Marisa Fernandes is an architect graduated from the University of Minho, where she is also a guest lecturer and doctoral researcher at Lab2PT, supported by an FCT grant. Between 2023 and 2025, she also taught at SRH University in Heidelberg (Germany). Her research focuses on the analysis and representation of the contemporary landscape. With extensive participation in initiatives related to the city, highlights include the co-organisation of Youth 4 Bauhaus with Braga Media Arts and the Participatory Cartography Workshop as part of Braga 25 – Portuguese Capital of Culture.
Sandra Teixeira is a visual artist based in Porto whose work focuses on alternative and experimental photography. Her practice stems from observing nature and celebrates the imperfection of images, oscillating between chance and control. Exploring the passage of time and the materiality of photography as an object, her work is distinguished by its ecological commitment, using low-toxicity chemical alternatives and natural developers made from plants and common household ingredients.
Created in 2015 by gnration, Summer Laboratories seeks to support the development of new original artistic works within the district of Braga and the municipality of Vila do Conde. Over eleven editions, the programme has already supported more than thirty projects and around fifty artists.
The Summer Laboratories programme is promoted by gnration (Braga), CAAA Centro para os Assuntos da Arte e Arquitectura (Guimarães) and Solar – Galeria de Arte Cinemática (Vila do Conde), in partnership with LAC – Laboratório de Actividades Criativas (Lagos). It is supported by RPAC – Portuguese Contemporary Art Network, a programme of the Directorate-General for the Arts / Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
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