2026 // 2025 //  2024 // 2023 // 2022 // 2021

23.FEB.>22.APR.2024 ︎︎︎ CULTURE MOVES EUROPE RESIDENCY

German landscape architect Stephanie Geihs undertook a residency in Casa Branca to develop The Tree Temple, with the support of the Culture Moves Europe mobility programme.

Centred around the board game The Tree Temple, the project invited local residents to collectively imagine, cultivate and transform a neglected outdoor space into a community garden. Through a series of collaborative sessions, participants cleared vegetation and debris, reused materials found on site to build raised beds, paths and paving, and installed a drip irrigation system.

As the transformation unfolded, the space gradually became a meeting place, with residents contributing plants, sharing memories and taking part in its ongoing care. The residency demonstrated how collective action and landscape design can foster social connection and strengthen a sense of place.

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04>31.MAR.2024︎︎︎ ARTISTIC RESIDENCY

Artists Katharina Rensing and Beat Sandkühler developed the interdisciplinary residency Empty Spaces Speak, combining architecture, sound art and performance.

The residency explored how abandoned spaces can reveal their social and political dimensions through sound and storytelling. Working with voices, memories and reflections gathered from the people of Casa Branca, the artists created an immersive sound and video installation that invited visitors to experience vacant spaces in new ways.

As part of the programme, a movement and video workshop took place on 28 March, followed by public presentations of the installation on 5 and 6 April.

The residency was supported by the Culture Moves Europe mobility programme.

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12.MAR.2024︎︎︎ ARCHITECTURE RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

Master's students from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon (FA-UL) presented the research projects they had developed on Casa Branca, sharing new perspectives on architecture, territory and rural regeneration.

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14>15.MAR.2024︎︎︎ HOSTING OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Estação Cooperativa co-hosted the second day of the international conference A Place to Be – International Conference on Placemaking, organised by Arteria Lab / University of Évora within the Erasmus+ project PLAY/ACT – Placemaking as Youth Activism.

The event brought together researchers, practitioners and organisations working at the intersection of placemaking, participation and community-led territorial transformation.

Photos at Flickr

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20.MAR.2024︎︎︎ CULTURE MOVES EUROPE EVENT

Participation in the session Culture Moves Europe and International Mobility, held in Lisbon, where Estação Cooperativa presented its experience as a host organisation for artists supported through the European mobility programme.

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06.APR.2024︎︎︎ PUBLIC TALK “PRIVATE PROPERTY AND THE RIGHT TO HOUSING”

Estação Cooperativa hosted the public discussion Private Property and the Right to Housing, organised by O Espaço do Tempo as part of its programme “O Estado do Tempo”.

The conversation brought together Ana Gago, Ana Rita Alves, Adriano (Dog), António Brito Guterres and Filipa Cabrita to reflect on housing, property and contemporary social challenges.

Photos of Carolina Lecoq.

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06>07.APR.2024︎︎︎ COMMUNITY WORK DAYS

Neighbours, volunteers and cooperative members came together for a collective weekend of vegetation clearance, gardening and maintenance of the cooperative's outdoor spaces.

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06.APR.>28.JUN.2024 ︎︎︎ CONSTRUCTION SITE BASEhabitat

Estação Cooperativa welcomed a new edition of the BASEhabitat Design-Build Studio, continuing its long-term partnership with the University of Arts Linz. The programme combined architectural education with hands-on construction, enabling international students to work alongside local craftspeople and residents while contributing to the rehabilitation of the former railway heritage.

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27.APR.2024︎︎︎ GENERAL ASSEMBLY

An open community day brought together neighbours, friends and cooperative members around a shared meal, celebrating another year of collective work and strengthening community ties.

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27.APR.2024︎︎︎ OPEN DAY

Dia aberto: convívio de vizinhos, amigos e cooperadores e mesa posta

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19.MAY.2024 ︎︎︎ COMMUNITY ART INTERVENTION

Artists and cooperative members Daniele Grosso and Bruno Lavos created a symbolic public intervention to mark the 70th anniversary of the death of Catarina Eufémia, an agricultural worker and enduring symbol of the struggle for social justice and workers' rights in Portugal.

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06.JUN.2024 ︎︎︎ STARTUP MONTEMOR-O-NOVO

Estação Cooperativa participated as a jury member in the 3rd startUP Montemor-o-Novo Business Ideas Competition, supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.

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30.JUN.2024 ︎︎︎  “CIDADE PRÉ0CUPADA” FESTIVAL EXTENSION

Casa Branca hosted an extension of Cidade Pré0cupada, the multidisciplinary festival organised by Oficinas do Convento. The programme brought artistic creation into public space through performances, exhibitions, workshops and participatory activities, strengthening the dialogue between contemporary culture and rural life.

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15.JUL.>16.AUG.2024 ︎︎︎ SELF-BUILD VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME

A summer volunteer programme brought together participants to work on self-build, carpentry and outdoor maintenance projects. Guided by Lea Hartmann, Angus Baird and Bruno Lavos, the programme combined practical learning with the ongoing rehabilitation of Estação Cooperativa's shared spaces.

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24.AUG.2024︎︎︎ REGENERATIVE PLACES GATHERING

Participation in the first session of “Regenerative Places”, organised by Convento da Terra / TARS in Torrão. The gathering brought together initiatives exploring regenerative approaches to territory, ecology and community development.

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27.AUG.>08.SEP.2024 ︎︎︎ OLOS ARTISTIC RESIDENCY

Estação Cooperativa hosted the 2024 edition of Other Lands Other Sounds (OLOS), organised by the collective Curiosa.

The residency brought together twenty artists from around the world for an intensive programme of collaborative creation, interdisciplinary experimentation and engagement with the village of Casa Branca.

The programme concluded with a public presentation of the works developed during the residency on 6 September.

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06.SEP.2024 ︎︎︎ OPENING OF TERRAS DE FERRO CENTRE

Estação Cooperativa officially inaugurated the Terras de Ferro Centre – Documentation, Interpretation and Research Centre of Casa Branca, marking a major milestone in the regeneration of the former railway neighbourhood.

The opening also celebrated the launch of the permanent exhibition Along the Lines of Shadow – Memories of Iron, a living exhibition dedicated to the railway heritage, collective memory and cultural identity of Casa Branca.

The event represented the culmination of several years of collaborative work involving residents, artists, researchers, public institutions and partner organisations.

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09>29.SEP.2024 ︎︎︎ CULTURE MOVES EUROPERESIDENCY

Artists Michela Dal Brollo and Inés Ballesteros developed Living Equipment: Portable Spaces, a collaborative artistic residency supported by the Culture Moves Europe programme.

The project explored portable relational devices designed to activate public space, encourage encounters and generate new forms of dialogue within the local community.

The residency concluded with a public participatory event featuring conversations, shared food and collective activities.

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15.SEP.2024︎︎︎ PUBLIC TALK AT PONTO D’ORVALHO FESTIVAL

Participation in the discussion Ecologies of the Soil, moderated by architect Andreia Garcia, as part of the Ponto d'Orvalho Festival at Freixo do Meio.

The conversation explored the relationships between soil, ecology, land stewardship and regenerative practices.

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30.SEP.>20.OCT.2024 ︎︎︎ “ANIMAIS” - NEW MEDIA RESIDENCY

Estação Cooperativa hosted ANIMAIS – New Media, an artistic residency organised by the collective CADA under the artistic direction of Jared Hawkey and Sofia Oliveira.

Bringing together six artists selected through an open call, the residency explored the relationships between humans, nature and technology through new media practices. The programme concluded with a public presentation of the works developed during the residency on 19 October.

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21>25.OCT.2024 ︎︎︎ ARTISTIC RESIDENCY

Artists Renata Bueno and Sezen Tonguz developed the participatory residency Correspondence, centred on communication as a form of human connection.

Working closely with the local community, the artists created an installation and performance inspired by letters, postcards, notes, telegrams, emails and voice messages—both analogue and digital. Through personal exchanges and shared stories, the residency reflected on memory, distance and the many ways people remain connected.

The project concluded with a public presentation on 23 November.

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16.DEC.2024 ︎︎︎ GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The year concluded with the General Assembly, during which cooperative members discussed and approved the activity plan and budget for the coming year.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to reflect on a landmark year for Estação Cooperativa, marked by the opening of the Terras de Ferro Centre, an expanding international residency programme and the continued regeneration of the former railway neighbourhood of Casa Branca.

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16.DEC.2024 ︎︎︎ ESCUELA DE MICRO-NEGOCIOS SOCIALES

Estação Cooperativa participated as a guest organisation in the opening session of the Escuela de Micro-Negocios Sociales, an experimental school-laboratory for social entrepreneurship that brings together inspiring initiatives from Portugal and Spain.

Under the theme "Changing the World from the Territory", Estação Cooperativa shared its experience of community-led rural regeneration, reflecting on how culture, collective action and the adaptive reuse of public heritage can contribute to more resilient and sustainable territories.