Wine Tourism and Art in Alentejo

ALVEX is the result of the acronym of AL(entejo) V(irtual) EX(tremadura), and the result of the collaboration between the Center for Art and Culture of the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation (FEA) and the MEIAC (Museu Extremeño e Ibero-Americano). of art
Contemporary) in dialogue with the artist Maite Cajaraville. An exhibition that will be open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday, from the 19th of February, at the Centro de Arte e Cultura, in Évora. Those who travel to Évora also have a good opportunity to visit the wine tourism at Adega Cartuxa, belonging to the FEA, before or after visiting the exhibition.

Curated by Natalia Piñuel Martín and co-curated by José Alberto Ferreira, the artistic project ALVEX is an extension of VEXTRE, created by the Extremaduran artist for exhibition at MEIAC in 2021. It is originally presented as a digitally designed sculpture where it is possible to evaluate parameters economic, demographic, urban, modality, employment, among others, in the Spanish region of Extremadura. The Portuguese version adds another sculpture dedicated to the Alentejo, also designed and produced by Maite Cajaraville, where the collection and detailed analysis of the socio-economic data of the Alentejo is translated into an artistic language that invites reflection on the constraints of the present and the possibilities future of a region.

Thus, the 3D physical part and the virtual expanded reality part of ALVEX will be displayed at the same time, putting viewers in front of two silent realities divided by a border. An augmented reality (QR) device will add readability spheres to each region, access to complementary information and the possibility of including visitors in the exhibition.

On the 16th, 17th and 18th of February, students and teachers will be able to follow the 3D printing of the piece, in ceramic, and dialogue with the artist and the other creative members of the team about the entire design and materialization process. Participation is free, and appointments can be made via email servicoeducativo@fea.pt or telephone contact 266 748 350.
«It is necessary to arouse curiosity for technological experimentation in society and in artists, facilitating a technological, scientific and creative transfer to society as a whole, and to promote a change of mentality that motivates critical thinking about the rural environment and that awakens the possibilities of survival and pride in belonging”, says Maite Cajaraville, an artist from Extremadura.

For the curator Natalia Piñuel Martín, «talking about the work of Maite Cajaraville means claiming one of the pioneering artists of digital art in Spain. His trajectory is a continuous work in progress, integrating non-fiction narratives in different projects that work around media art. A fundamental characteristic throughout his career is the ability to reverse imaginaries and social conditioning through interaction with the public, using current devices of our reality from the contexts of contemporary art. With VEXTRE and ALVEX, it takes steps further, building sculptures of the future and creating an expanded Extremadura and Alentejo that reflect the interests and concerns of the present in these territories». The exhibition can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday, between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm, with free admission to the Art and Culture Center in Évora. For additional information, consult the FEA website https://www.fea.pt/home