PiKi Porto

Our Skills & Experience

We love to share our knowledge and help people experience the joy of creativity. Below is a summary of our skills and experience, followed by more details about some of the core aspects.

For more information, or if you have an idea we can help you develop, please contact us.

Overview

  • Backgrounds in science and arts
  • Professional experience of project creation, leading and production, including planning and deadline management
  • Experience of working in multidisciplinary teams
  • Professional training in socially-engaged art projects, promotion of accessible and inclusive practices
  • Production of works for diverse audiences
  • Experience of creating and managing collectives

Professional Artistic Experience

  • Visual arts / ‘artes plásticas’
  • Research at post-doctoral level
  • Teaching / training of other artists

Collaborative experience

  • Creation and organization of Porto Drawing Club: promotion of an inclusive and informal environment, scheduling and promotion of activities, management of participants, models and spaces
  • Creation and organization of PiKi : curating and producing exhibitions, conducting workshops for adults and children, conception and management of artistic projects
  • Membership of Portugal Verde e Circular Association: defining activity plans, promoting artistic activities with a social component, supporting clothing exchange campaigns
  • Co-creation and board member (Eliana) of Santeiras do Coronado – Artistic and Cultural Association: establishing institutional partnerships, carrying out social volunteer work, activating dialogue between artistic and artisanal practices
  • International collaborations with academic research groups

Workshops

We have been running private, public and commissioned workshops for over 10 years, working with children, families, people with dementia, youth groups, art and craft organizations….

We create bespoke workshops which best suit the audience, using the processes of cyanotype, origami, drawing, collage and felting / textiles.

Outdoor workshop making cyanotypes with schoolchildren
Private 2-day workshop, making nuno-felted, cyanotype printed scarves, and cyanotype tote bags

Projects

We share experience working on projects lasting from one week to several years. Our skills and training in socially-engaged work allows us to exceed expectations in terms of reaching and engaging audiences.

We have worked with libraries, museums, heritage locations, churches, schools, local communities, charities and art groups.

Excerpt from a local ‘Atlas’ made as part of a long-term rural community project
People living with dementia, holding the 5m-long quilted banner created with their collaboration. They continue to use the banner at national events and on television

Commissions

Our works are often created to commission. This includes works for private individuals as well as public institutions.

Examples include:
Eliana created sculptures from local materials for a family home
Alun produced works for the permanent collection of a city library based on material from the archives.
Alun made a triptych to complement existing works for a local collector.

One of a series of 9 images created for a public library

Teaching / Academic Work

Our academic backgrounds (in immunology and mathematics) gives us an excellent base for teaching.

As artists we have given many public lectures. Alun currently offers interactive talks about the history of photography, memory and identity, and exploring philosophy through origami and cyanotype.

Our work has led to various recent artistic and academic publications, including:
Pattern and Chaos (academic design book)
Repair Shop of Memory (academic journal article)
I Want To Speak Please (poem in a collection about dementia)
No Maps For These Territories (academic journal article)