Carquejeira Feet

A performative and collective action in a historical and sound landscape to pay homage to the Carquejeiras and discuss female work and slave labor. Come have a tea with us.

The project is a relational performance that invites the public to take part in a tribute to the Carquejeiras, thus contributing to the recovery of the city’s cultural memory and to the debate around women’s work and slave labour. At Fontainhas, at the end of Calçada das Carquejeiras, and in front of the sculpture by José Lamas that honours them, a carqueja tea will be prepared and offered to the public while a soundscape is played in the background, based on excerpts from the testimony of Palmira de Sousa – the last carquejeira – and sounds captured during the harvesting of the herb. The preparation of the tea is made up of a performative act that will include all the stages of the process, from the separation of the flowers from the stem, the breaking up of the dried flower, the heating of the water and a slow infusion with sculptural instruments created specifically for the performance. The project was created by students Marin Nogueira, Marina Bernardes, Margarida Forte, Maria Torres and Paula Cerveró, as part of the Art and Public Space curricular unit of the Fine and Intermediate Arts course at ESAP, taught by Professor Rodrigo Paglieri.