Visual Arts research investigates local traditions and confirms a collective exhibition in Criciúma

Students from the Visual Arts program participating in the research project "Silenced Stories: the place of the invisible in the artistic, cultural, and heritage production of Southern Santa Catarina" undertook a regional study trip last week. The field crossing served as a laboratory for artistic processes and cultural immersion, collecting historical traces outside of official narratives.

The group's itinerary included strategic points in Orleans, such as the Princesa Isabel Open-Air Museum and the Zé Diabo Cliff. In Urussanga, they explored the culinary tradition at Casa Del Nonno Winery, visited the Pietá sculpture at the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Parish, and passed through the Ado Cassetari Vieira Municipal Park, extending the circuit to Cocal do Sul.

"The idea is that direct contact with the territories reveals layers of local histories that have been invisible until now, and that from these layers, questions capable of transforming into experiences and artistic works will emerge," emphasizes the project coordinator, Aurélia Regina de Souza Honorato.

This initiative is linked to the Laboratory of Languages and Humanities (Lalih) at Unesc and is supported financially by the Santa Catarina Research and Innovation Support Foundation (Fapesc).

"The essential goal is to create an affective cartography to challenge the limits of traditional heritage, giving voice to subjects and collective memories that often remain in the shadows of Eurocentric historiographical versions," explains the professor.

With the completion of the field stage, students and faculty have begun the phase of workshops and individual artistic production, which will continue until November 3. 

The visual, textual, and conceptual materials accumulated during the expedition through neighboring cities will serve as input for the university's creative laboratories under curatorial supervision.

The results of the Extension and Research project will be presented to the regional community through a free collective exhibition. The official opening of the show is scheduled for November 6 at 7:30 PM at the Contemporary Art Gallery of the Jorge Zanatta Cultural Center.