Serralves Park to Host Premiere of Collaborative Prison Art Project 'Semillas'

Serralves Park in Porto will host the premiere of Semillas on October 12th at 8:00 PM. This free performance is a unique collaboration between the Tenerife II Penitentiary Center in the Canary Islands and the Portuguese textile design school, Modatex. More than just an art show, the project bridges the gap between the prison system and professional design training.

The project began with anti-colonial drama workshops held at the Tenerife prison in partnership with AFES Mental Health. During these sessions, inmates shared their personal stories by creating characters and scripts. This work was then sent to Portugal, where Modatex students transformed those narratives into physical, sculptural elements. This process reflects a growing trend in museums: opening their doors to co-creation with groups that are often excluded from traditional cultural spaces.

The performance is brought to life by the artistic duo Poncili Creación—brothers Pablo and Efraín del Hierro—who have previously exhibited at major institutions like MoMA PS1 and the Aspen Art Museum. They use improvisation and soft sculpture to give movement and volume to the ideas developed by the inmates.

Semillas is part of the European project "Perform Inform Transform" (PIT), funded by the EU’s Creative Europe program. The PIT network includes prestigious institutions like TEA (Tenerife Arts Space), the Serralves Foundation, MUDAM in Luxembourg, and the Milan Triennale. Curated by Javier García Arozena, Pedro Rocha, and Cristina Grande, the initiative explores how museums can better involve citizens. Ultimately, the project uses bodily expression to spark a dialogue between people from vastly different social backgrounds.