Mata Viva · Art & Regeneration
Art can restore more than landscapes.
Mata Viva is a 10-day immersive residency where artists, scientists, and local communities explore regeneration together. Set within the recovering Atlantic Forest at Fazenda ALUME, the programme invites creative practice to become part of ecological restoration—not simply inspired by it.
About the Residency
A living laboratory for creativity.
Each edition brings together ten artists from different disciplines to spend ten days immersed in the Atlantic Forest.
Rather than working from a predetermined theme, participants respond to the territory itself—its biodiversity, history, communities, and ongoing ecological transformation.
Artists have access to ALUME's landscapes, workshops, technical knowledge, and multidisciplinary team, creating opportunities for dialogue between art, ecology, engineering, traditional knowledge, and regenerative practice.
The residency values process as much as outcomes. Some works may remain in the landscape. Others may become performances, installations, research, publications, or collaborations that continue long after the residency ends.
Beyond the Residency
Creativity shared with the community.
Mata Viva extends beyond ALUME through public activities across southern Bahia.
Depending on each edition, the programme may include:
- Community workshops.
- Artist talks and conversations.
- School visits.
- Guided forest experiences.
- Collaborative installations.
- Cultural exchanges with local knowledge holders.
Open Call
Applications are open to Brazilian and international artists working in any discipline.
ALUME aims to provide accommodation, meals, shared workspaces, ecological mediation, and technical support throughout the residency. Available resources may vary with each edition depending on partnerships and funding.
For current application dates and application details, contact ALUME.
Cultural Partnerships
Mata Viva is being developed through partnerships with cultural institutions, philanthropic organisations, and public funding programmes, including Lei Rouanet.
Sponsors help make participation accessible while supporting artistic production, environmental education, community engagement, and the long-term cultural life of Fazenda ALUME.
Opportunities include programme sponsorship, workshops, exhibitions, publications, educational activities, and long-term cultural partnerships.
Why Art?
Regeneration is cultural before it is ecological.
A forest can be replanted.
A relationship with nature must also be restored.
Artists help communities imagine different futures, reveal overlooked stories, create emotional connections, and translate ecological change into experiences that people remember.
For ALUME, culture is not an addition to restoration.
It is one of the ways restoration becomes possible.