UA.LABDESIGN – University in the Villages Exhibition Comes to a Close at the University of Aveiro
The exhibition UA.LABDESIGN – University in the Villages, presented by ID+ Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture, officially closed on February 21, 2025, after two months on display at the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro. Inaugurated on December 17, 2024, the exhibition attracted significant attention from students, researchers, local communities, and the broader public.
The initiative was supported by the European project CULTURALITY – Creative Tourism and Sustainability in Remote Areas, aligning with its mission to promote creative and sustainable approaches to cultural heritage and rural development, and showcased work developed within the UA.LABDESIGN platform — a design laboratory situated in rural territories that brings together students, professors, researchers, and local communities through immersive fieldwork in mountainous inland villages of Portugal.
Organized under the coordination of Professor Nuno Dias and Researcher Cristiane Menezes, the exhibition reflected on how contemporary design can engage with traditional practices to envision sustainable futures rooted in local culture. As a network of interlinked workshops, UA.LABDESIGN encourages experimentation and dialogue, strengthening the creative potential and resilience of rural communities.
The works on display were the result of several immersion periods, which began in the Schist Villages (PROJECT@X), in collaboration with ADXTUR – the Agency for the Touristic Development of the Schist Villages, and currently focus on the Caramulo region, with artisan workshops across the parishes of Guardão, Castelões, Campo de Besteiros, and Molelos.
The project has benefited from the essential support of the Municipality of Tondela and the engagement of local parish councils. These partnerships have made possible the exploration and transmission of ancestral techniques such as the linen cycle of Castelões and the black clay pottery of Molelos. Through regular design residencies, students and researchers have co-created with master artisans, positioning design as a tool for social cohesion and cultural valorization.
The exhibition presented a wide range of artisanal practices and materials — from linen and burel wool to leather, printmaking, woodcraft, and digital fabrication — offering visitors a chance to reflect on the future of design research and education in rural, low-density territories.
By bridging tradition and innovation, UA.LABDESIGN – University in the Villages contributed to CULTURALITY’s broader vision of promoting creative tourism, participatory heritage, and sustainable development across Europe’s rural landscapes.
