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Mariana Pestana

Mariana Pestana is an architect, researcher and independent curator, exploring critical, social and fictional dimensions of design for an age marked by technological progress and an ecological crisis. Since 2010, she is co-director of The Decorators, an interdisciplinary studio that makes collaborative cultural programmes with the aim to expand notions of place, community and commensality. She holds a PhD in Architectural Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture. In 2018, Mariana co-curated The Future Starts Here (Victoria and Albert Museum) and in 2019 she co-curated Eco Visionários: Arte e Arquitectura Depois do Antropoceno (MAAT, Lisbon, Matadero, Madrid e Royal Academy, London) and edited Fiction Practice: Prototyping the Otherworldly (Onomatopee). Currently, she is the curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial (2020-21) and works as Assistant Professor of Design at Lusófona University. Ciência Vitae

Justin Roborg-Söndergaard

Justin is a South African field ecologist and nature conservationist. He has a master’s degree from London University and is a PhD candidate at the Nova University School of Science and Technology on the restoration of Natura 2000 habitats. Apart from his studies, Justin also consults on numerous ecological projects in Portugal which are focused on recovering damaged, degraded, and destroyed ecosystems where he employs GIS and ‘drone’ based technologies for unmanned aerial surveys, along with his experience as a field-based practitioner. He is a member of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) international as well as the SER European chapter. Before coming to Portugal, he worked in a community based natural resource management (CBNRM) project in Niassa, Mozambique for over 10 years – it was here that he met Sofia, his Portuguese wife. Before Mozambique, he worked in the Kruger National Park, as well as other South African National Parks, including various ecological restoration and CBNRM projects throughout southern Africa.

Marco Balesteros

Marco Balesteros explores the book as expanded territory and performative space, which he began researching as part of the MA programme at the Werkplaats Typografie (NL) and Jan Van Eyck Academy (NL), where he developed the project SALA LIVR(E)O. In his practice he investigates the artist book, the essay book and the book as staged territory. Balesteros explores this possibility through his collaboration with dancer and choreographer Sara Vaz in the project LIVRO-CARACTERE. He is the founder of studio LETRA, where he produces projects in a close dialogue with visual artists, photographers, dancers, curators, publishers, galleries and others. Balesteros develops pedagogical models parallel to the academic space in which he explores publishing as a collaborative model and a form of public action. He has developed several workshops on self-publishing: Samizadt and Portable School (FBAUL, Lisbon); Mus(a)eu(m) (Serralves, Porto); LOW high (Madrid); Hard-Edit (Bucharest); Second Circulation (Darmstadt), Portable School—A lesson in Politics (Sofia), De-School-ing ENSBA Lyon, among others. Lecturer on the BA Communication Design at Lusófona University, and Guest Lecturer on the MA Graphic Design at ESAD.CR.

Inês Correia

Conservator-restorer of Graphic Documents. PhD from the Art History Department of FCSH-UNL, with the support of FCT, with research on the archeology of illuminated manuscripts from the Monastery of Lorvão. Conservation of manuscripts and historical bindings in the National Archive of Torre do Tombo (1997–2018). Taught the course Preservation and Conservation of Information and Documentation at FCSH-UNL (2012–16), with notable projects in India with the support of the Oriente Foundation, in Egypt at the service of the Levantine Foundation, at the Coptic Library of Seir al-Surian; for Unesco, in the preparation of the Dossier for the current nomination of the Apocalypse of Lorvão (1189) the Memory of the World. She is the commissioner of the exploratory project LivrObjecto – Anatomy and Architecture. Coordinator of the Conservation Area of MUDE – Museum of Design and Fashion, and Guest Lecturer at Delli at Lusófona University. Represents Portugal at the European Research Center for Book and Paper Conservation-Restoration.

Filipe Luz

PhD in Communication Sciences, Director of the BA Videogames and Vice-chair of the BA Communication Design at Lusófona University. Lecturer in digital post-production for film, television, games and animation, also developing research in communication sciences, design and arts. His work at Hei-Lab (Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab) and MovLab (Laboratory o Interactions and Interfaces), where he integrates technologies such a Motion Capture, Animation, VR or Stereoscopic Photography, is an example of the cross-media projects that involve academic and professional work for the entertainment, design or communication sectors.

Collaborators

André Tavares
Bianca Elzenbaumer
Ece Canli
Filipe Luz
Justin Roborg-Söndergaard
Lisa Surwillo
Marco Balesteros
Mariana Pestana
Nuno Coelho

Paul Bailey

Paul Bailey is an Irish graphic designer, researcher and educator based in London (UK), exploring a practice that is made public through exhibitions, publications, performances, workshops, writing and curation. He directed the MA Graphic Media Design at London College of Communication, UAL (2014-22), was a founding member of the Graphic Design Educators’ Network (2015-2021); and an advisor at the Jan van Eyck Academie (2015-18). He has been an invited presenter, critic, jury member and examiner at Architectural Association, Central Saint Martins, Royal College of Arts (UK); Icelandic Academy of the Arts (IS); National College of Art & Design (IE). His practice has been awarded, exhibited and published internationally. He is a fellow of fellow Higher Education Academy (UK) and a member of various editorial boards. He is presently pursuing a PhD in the Arts at KASK School of Arts (BE) and leading an independent design-research studio. Ciência Vitae

Marta Belo

Graphic designer and researcher based in Lisbon. Graduated in Education, studied illustration at Ar.Co, and investigated the concept of the Designer as Player in her MA project in Graphic Design at ESAD.CR School of Arts and Design Caldas da Rainha. She works predominantly in commissioned and self-initiated projects in book and editorial design, identity design, visual arts and design research. Marta is also interested in speculative visual research and learning through exploratory projects that allow her to investigate the intersection of design with other fields of knowledge, especially art, science and pedagogy. She is currently developing a PhD research in design about alternative design pedagogies and play at the University of Lisbon, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology. Lecturer at the Design Department of Lusófona University. Ciência Vitae

Isabel Lucena

Isabel Lucena is a graphic designer and researcher. MA in Communication and Design from the Sandberg Institute (NL) and BA in Communication Design (IADE) with Erasmus Exchange at the Universität für Angewandte Kunst of Vienna (Austria). She is currently a PhD student in Communication and Media Arts at Lusófona University, Lisbon. Her main research interests include the status of images in contemporary culture, their global circulation, and image representation techniques. She teaches graphic design and printing techniques subjects at the Communication Design Programme (Design Lusófona Lisboa). Since 2010 Isabel has maintained her practice as an independent graphic designer, working with several cultural institutions, museums, galleries, artists, and publishers.

Isabel Duarte

Isabel Duarte is a PhD candidate at the University of Brighton and a graphic designer. Her current research engages with the intersections of graphic design history, feminist methodologies and decolonial studies of cultural production, with a focus on Portuguese graphic design history and Portuguese social context. In 2021 co-curated the exhibition Errata: a feminist revision of Portuguese graphic design history. In parallel develops the Errata podcast documenting and reflecting on issues facing women designers in Portugal through conversations with thinkers, curators, historians and designers, about their experiences and work. As a graphic designer, Isabel has worked mainly in editorial projects such as ArtReview and ArtReview Asia, Eye Magazine amongst other projects mainly for cultural clients. Ciência Vitae