More than just an artistic project, A.V.I.S.T.A.R. is an act of observing the island, the other, and the culture that transforms landscapes and relationships, leaving traces of creativity, community and dialogue between the past and the future.

In this specially formatted residency, an artist or artistic collective is invited to develop a creative proposal rooted in the local area, in active collaboration with the local community. The project unfolds across several residencies, allowing for an ongoing process of listening, creation and sharing.

The aim is to bring residents and professionals together around a shared artistic purpose, promoting social cohesion and collective participation, and culminating in a final outcome that can have a lasting impact or be of practical use to the community.

With the artists of TIMECIRCUS comes the idea of building bridges – not of stone or iron, but of wood, culture and imagination – between the islands of the Azores triangle. It is a project of creation and exhibition in motion that breathes the landscape, the knowledge and the hands that inhabit these islands, where modular and sustainable structures emerge as settings for artistic and cultural encounters, built jointly by a multidisciplinary collective of artists from Belgium and the local community.

The artistic structures created by the collective, the Whale Watchtower and the Temple of Inspiration, now form an organic part of the volcanic landscape that hosts them. More than just physical structures, they are living spaces, conceived from the energy of the land and brought to life by live performances that blend art, ritual and collective celebration.

Rooted in the island’s raw materials and open to the Atlantic horizon, these works have become meeting points and spaces for shared creation. They function as stages for cultural activities that bring artists and the community together, fostering moments of expression, listening and participation. Over time, they have ceased to be mere artistic interventions and have established themselves as places of belonging — settings where memory, imagination and everyday life intertwine, strengthening the bond between culture and territory.

The creative process is an invitation to participate: workshops and artist residencies led by trained professionals empower the community to observe, engage with and reinterpret their own historical heritage, transforming it into a contemporary, functional and enduring expression. With every hammer blow, every brushstroke, each island becomes a stage for creation, and every participant a co-creator of their region’s cultural future.

At the heart of the project are two modular structures: one fixed, the TEMPLE, and one mobile, the WATCHTOWER, made from local cryptomeria wood and inspired by traditional Azorean architecture. More than mere structures or art installations, they become living stages, spaces for performances, exhibitions and workshops, harmoniously integrated into the landscape yet open to the contemporary world.

The permanent structure stands as a lasting testament to this process, whilst the mobile structure ensures the flexibility to accommodate different forms of expression and formats. Together, they serve as observatories for social and cultural observation, where one can contemplate not only the landscape, but also the encounters, exchanges and bonds that emerge between the islands.

These creations are a living testament to how art and community can be united, bringing together people from both inside and outside the island to create collectively. The project demonstrated the power of the collective in artistic creation, showing that collaboration enriches the creative process and strengthens the bonds between participants. Furthermore, it promotes access to culture and values local culture, offering a fresh perspective on traditions, encounters and exchanges that emerge between people and with the place where they live.

Over the course of three artist residencies, spending a total of two months in the area, the TIMECIRCUS collective – comprising 21 artists – lived and worked in Capelo, transforming the AVISTAVULCÃO space into a veritable creative laboratory. Among them were builders, musicians, set designers, designers, cooks and even fishermen – a vibrant artistic community that brought new energy and imagination to the place.

The methodology of the A.V.I.S.T.A.R. project is based on a collective creative process developed over two years, structured in complementary stages that combine research, training, artistic creation and public engagement. It is a progressive journey, where artistic practice emerges from the ongoing relationship between artists, the local area and the community.

Artistic residencies serve as key milestones in the process. Organised in different phases, they enable artists to work in depth, in close collaboration with the local area and local teams. The groups of artists rotate according to the project’s stages, ensuring flexibility, a diversity of approaches and a continuous presence over time. This extended stay fosters relationships of trust, collaboration and co-creation with the community.

The first phase of the project was dedicated to research, observation of the territory and the construction of the conceptual and material foundations that would guide the entire creative process. This initial stage was a time for listening, for moving about and for immersing oneself in the cultural and landscape identity of the islands of the Azorean Triangle.

The second phase of the project involves deepening the creative process, strengthening the relationships between the TimeCircus artistic collective, the local area and the community, and planning the realisation of the works.

The third phase of the project marks the point at which the process begun in the previous phases takes shape. It is here that the research, the relationships built and the listening to the territory are transformed into gesture, body and matter. This stage culminates in the arrival on the island of the entire artistic collective, a team of 21 people, to bring the artistic constructions to fruition, activate them publicly and stage live performances, which this year were integrated into the 5th annual celebration of the eruption of the Capelinhos Volcano.

There are not enough words to thank everyone for the friendship, dedication, creativity, generosity and joie de vivre they left here in Capelo:

Dajo, Gaelle, Bram, Tom, Sig, Jef, Lotte, David, Alex, Florence, Sarah, Sebastiaan, Griet, Charlotte, Ellen, Sven, Jasper, Johan, Sanders, Zoe and Saar... and, of course, Horsi & Flip!

The inauguration of the Temple of Inspiration marks the opening of a new space for creation and gathering, celebrated through live performances by the TIMECIRCUS collective. More than just an opening ceremony, it is a rite of activation: an artistic gesture that invites the community to inhabit the space, to listen to it and to transform it into a place of sharing.

With its unique language, which blends physical theatre, music, visual art and collective celebration, TIMECIRCUS will bring the Temple to life, revealing it not merely as an architectural structure, but as a sensitive organism, shaped by human presence and the energy of the land. The inauguration thus establishes the Temple of Inspiration as a stage open to the imagination, experimentation and ongoing dialogue between art, nature and the community.

The creative process step by step:

TEMPLE OF INSPIRATION, a creation inspired by Azorean architecture and landscapes, aims to pay tribute to the historical bond between the local community and the surrounding natural environment. It is intended to be a space dedicated to artistic creation in a rural setting, designed around the values of sharing, contemplation and connection with the local area.

The people and the territories that welcome them are the main source of inspiration for the artists’ installations; whether small or large-scale, the creations are always distinguished by their originality, the creative use of locally available materials, and the active involvement of the communities.

Sustainable art and the power of the collective: wood, iron, windows, pallets, spools, trees, reeds, and even lunches, dinners, veja fish, sea bream, black-mouth bream, brandy, music and friendship

The aim is to make the most of the resources the area offers, integrating them creatively and thoughtfully into the artistic process.

This is a profoundly contemporary work, inviting reflection on urgent issues in today’s world, such as environmental challenges and the importance of inclusion and social diversity. At the same time, it is a deeply human creation, and it is through the power of the collective that larger-scale projects with greater impact become possible.

The opening of the Whale Watchtower celebrates the emergence of a new landmark in the landscape and in the cultural life of the community. Erected in dialogue with the horizon and the ancestral tradition of whale watching, this structure stands as a place for contemplation, gathering and creativity.

The opening is marked by a participatory performance, conceived as a symbolic gesture to activate the space. Through movement, voice and shared presence, the community is invited to become part of the work, transforming it into a living, inhabited and meaningful place.

More than a ceremony, the opening proposes a contemporary ritual: an encounter between art and territory, where each participant contributes to giving meaning to the Whale Watch, inaugurating not just a physical structure, but a space of belonging, memory and collective future.