CÓRTEX FRONTALArtist residency

About

The salon of the manor house

Córtex Frontal

Córtex Frontal is a multidisciplinary cultural project established in 2015 by Córtexcult, a non-profit cultural association, located in Arraiolos, Alentejo, Portugal.

We support artists through artist residencies, workshops and exhibitions, across disciplines including Textile and Visual Arts, Literature and Music, with a special focus on Portuguese emerging artists.

Our mission has two sides: developing artists practice, and bringing art to the local community and the surrounding region.

Our programmes have been supported by the Direção-Geral das Artes (Ministry of Culture), the Câmara Municipal de Arraiolos, the Junta de Freguesia de Arraiolos, the Direção Regional de Cultura do Alentejo, the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) and the University of Évora.

Córtex Frontal is a member of the Portuguese Contemporary Art Network (RPAC).

The house

The residency is located in the centre of Arraiolos, in an 18th-century manor house. Up to eight artists of different disciplines, nationalities and ages live and work there. Each artist has a private bedroom and a studio space, and shares the kitchen, living rooms, garden and small pool.

Garden and houseBedroomAtticCorridor to the gardenDining roomRoom with a view over the townStudioStudio

Arraiolos

Arraiolos is a peaceful white-and-blue town in the heart of Alentejo, Portugal. Located 120 km from Lisbon and 20 km from Évora, it is surrounded by plains, oak groves, and olive tree forests.

The town is best known for its circular castle and its renowned hand-embroidered wool rugs and carpets, a craft that dates back to the Middle Ages.

As the administrative center of a larger council with a population of 7,800, Arraiolos offers a range of amenities, including restaurants, pharmacies, a public pool, a library, and more, making life for artists in residence both easy and convenient.

The House of the Córtexcult Cultural Association, according to José Borges in the book "Arraiolos revisitado a preto e branco", was located "On the most noble street in the village, called Melo Mexia, is this family's manor house, consisting of an elegant façade, from the end of the 18th century, but greatly benefited from the morgue of Arraiolos João de Melo Mexia, to receive the king D. Pedro V there in 1860."

Team

Mercedes Vidal-Abarca
Artistic director
Nuno Félix da Costa
Co-founder and co-director
Diogo Ramalho
Curator
Janis Dellarte
Production

Mercedes Vidal-Abarca

[Bio to be added]

Nuno Félix da Costa

[Bio to be added]

Diogo Ramalho

[Bio to be added]

Janis Dellarte

[Bio to be added]