Mães D'Água

“Mães D’Água” was a performance-led community project commissioned by Zambujal 360 and Fundação Manuel António da Mota. Developed over four months, the initiative brought artist Luísa Mota and the Anti-House collective into close dialogue with residents of the Bairro do Zambujal. Through workshops, presentations, and collaborative events involving local mediators and associations, the project explored themes of social invisibility, gender bias, and symbolic belonging. To document and assess its outcomes, an external impact report was carried out by Stone Soup Consulting.

One of its final outcomes was the mural “Crystal Beings” (image A), inspired by local narratives and co-created reflections. The Crystal Beings — recurring archetypal figures in Mota’s practice — were reimagined as fluid guardians of the neighborhood: reflective presences that transcend age, gender, and race, offering a poetic framework for collective visibility and awakening creativity as a pathway for transformation.

One of its final outcomes was the mural “Crystal Beings” (image A), inspired by local narratives and co-created reflections. The Crystal Beings — recurring archetypal figures in Mota’s practice — were reimagined as fluid guardians of the neighborhood: reflective presences that transcend age, gender, and race, offering a poetic framework for collective visibility and awakening creativity as a pathway for transformation.

The Making of...

One of its final outcomes was the mural “Crystal Beings” , inspired by local narratives and co-created reflections. The Crystal Beings — recurring archetypal figures in Mota’s practice — were reimagined as fluid guardians of the neighborhood: reflective presences that transcend age, gender, and race, offering a poetic framework for collective visibility and awakening creativity as a pathway for transformation.

One of its final outcomes was the mural “Crystal Beings” , inspired by local narratives and co-created reflections. The Crystal Beings — recurring archetypal figures in Mota’s practice — were reimagined as fluid guardians of the neighborhood: reflective presences that transcend age, gender, and race, offering a poetic framework for collective visibility and awakening creativity as a pathway for transformation.

One of its final outcomes was the mural “Crystal Beings” (image A), inspired by local narratives and co-created reflections. The Crystal Beings — recurring archetypal figures in Mota’s practice — were reimagined as fluid guardians of the neighborhood: reflective presences that transcend age, gender, and race, offering a poetic framework for collective visibility and awakening creativity as a pathway for transformation.