“What can rural places tell each other?”

WHAT CAN RURAL PLACES TELL EACH OTHER?
Artistic research,
by Luís Costa

November 2025 – February 2026
Abruzzo region (Italy)

Between November 2025 and February 2026, Luís Costa, coordinator of Binaural Nodar and PhD researcher in artistic creation, will conduct several periods of artistic research in mountain landscapes and communities of the Italian region of Abruzzo, in a co-production between Binaural Nodar, Bambun APS, and Centro Studi Don Nicola Jobbi. This research is also part of the Tramontana Network and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

In the context of the research, Luís Costa will explore empirical, sensory, and imaginary relationships between rural places in the Portuguese region of Viseu Dão Lafões and the Italian region of Abruzzo, through a series of four new audiovisual essays that problematize the concept of “third place.”

The third place unfolds as an evocative space that transcends conventional binaries of geography and landscape, offering a liminal ground where meanings are neither fixed nor fully formed. It is a realm where the familiar contours of place dissolve into something more fluid—an interstice that invites a rethinking of how we inhabit and narrate space. Here, the third place is not merely a physical location but a conceptual threshold, a site of encounter where memory, perception, and desire converge and diverge. It demands an engagement with the in-between, a creative latency where the act of imagining becomes a dynamic process of weaving disparate elements into a transient fabric, much like a palimpsest that bears traces of what was and hints at what might emerge.

With this research, carried out in partnership with two research centers: ID+ (University of Aveiro) and LiDA (School of Art and Design, Caldas da Rainha), the nine audiovisual essays included in the doctoral thesis will be completed, reflecting various aspects of the relationship established between rural places, such as popular religiosity, mountain flora, textile crafts, the human-animal relationship, irrigation systems, among others.

Luís Costa would like to thank his supervisory team for their support during his research, comprising Graça Magalhães, Susana Duarte, and Sérgio Eliseu.

Binaural Nodar is a cultural entity supported by the Portuguese Republic – Culture, Youth and Sports | Directorate-General for the Arts.