Córtex Frontal began in 2015 in Arraiolos, a white-and-blue town in Alentejo surrounded by plains, olive trees and cork oaks, where rugs have been embroidered by hand since the Middle Ages. Created by Córtexcult, a non-profit cultural association, it is a place to make, think and share, where contemporary art meets the region and the people who live in it.

In the residency, artists in visual arts, textile arts, writing and music share a historic house in the centre of the town for weeks or months. Each works on their own project, at their own pace, and the rest happens around the table, in the studios, on visits across Alentejo and in meetings with the school, up to the final open studio.