Cockburn’s Opens the Doors of Quinta dos Canais to Emerging Artists

From the streets and museums to the Douro landscape. Cockburn’s – a renowned Port wine house of Symington Family Estates – has just launched an initiative that will bring art to the walls of Quinta dos Canais, the brand’s home in the Douro region. ‘Mosto’ – the term for the fresh grape juice intended for alcoholic fermentation – was chosen as the name for the project, which aims to be a ‘fermentation of ideas’ space for professional and emerging artists, providing a platform for the creation and sharing of their work.

The challenge from Cockburn’s has been set: a two-week artist residency in the unique nature of the Douro, far from conventions, promoting total freedom for the artists. Each residency will result in a piece inspired by the surrounding environment of the Quinta and the brand’s own spirit, which aims to develop an exhibition with the various creations in the long term.

The first residency at Quinta dos Canais took place between May 6 and 12, following an invitation extended to Gavin Renshaw (Tea One). The English artist was the winner of the latest Street Art Competition last September, winning over the jury with a mural that highlighted the rabelo boats and the Douro River landscape. Over the coming months, Cockburn’s will offer other artists the opportunity to join the ‘Mosto’ project. Applications for the next artist residencies are now open and should be submitted via email to mosto@cockburns.com.

The ‘Mosto’ project marks another step for Cockburn’s in supporting culture, particularly the visual arts. The brand, known for its young and irreverent approach to the commerce and consumption of Port wine, has promoted the Street Art Competition over the past three years. This initiative has brought together dozens of national and international artists at Cockburn’s cellars, challenging them to create projects inspired by the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, Port wine, and the tangible and intangible heritage of the Douro, over an afternoon.

The commitment to fostering close relationships with these artists, as well as the desire to support emerging artists, is a priority for the brand, which has promoted other initiatives in this field. An example of this is the 2023 launch of an exclusive box of Porto Vintage 2007 and Quinta dos Canais Vintage 2007, illustrated by Brazilian artist Paula Rezende – winner of the 2022 Street Art Competition. Combining irreverence and tradition, Cockburn’s also honored the work of coopers with a mural developed in partnership with Projeto Ruído, presented last year on the walls of Garrafeira do Carmo in downtown Porto. It is worth noting that Cockburn’s is the only Port wine house with a cooperage in its cellars, also housing the largest aging warehouse for Port wine in the historical area of Vila Nova de Gaia.