Montado ArtScapes – Regenerative Creative Ecosystems

Pilot Runner: Montado ArtScapes – Regenerative Creative Ecosystems

This Open Pilot, led by Catia Fonseca & Gilberto Bento, Lda., focuses on Montado ArtScapes – Regenerative Creative Ecosystems. The pilot activates the CYANOTYPES Creative Agency Competence Framework within the Montado ArtScapes ecosystem, using creative practice as a driver for health, well-being, ecological transition and community resilience.

The pilot creates a place-based learning and action space where artists, cultural agents, educators, communities, public-private stakeholders, tourism actors and environmental partners can work together around regeneration. Its ambition is to connect artistic production, environmental stewardship, creative tourism and community co-creation in one living ecosystem model.

Aims of the pilot

The pilot aims to strengthen regenerative cultural practices rooted in ecological transition, foster collective action, and move from ecological urgency toward tangible creative action. It also seeks to develop creative tourism models aligned with sustainability and regeneration.

The CYANOTYPES framework will be used to upskill artists, educators and cultural agents in regenerative and collective agency; strengthen public-private partnerships; support co-creation processes with social impact; and align creative tourism, artistic practice and ecosystem-building with long-term transformation.

The primary CYANOTYPES focus is the Regenerative Agency Cluster:

E1 – Self-Awareness and Empathy
E2 – Ethical and Sustainable Thinking
E3 – Problem Framing
E4 – Exploratory Thinking
E5 – Actionable Futures

A supportive focus is placed on the Collective Agency Cluster:

A1 – Creative Confidence
A2 – Collaboration Across Creative Disciplines
A4 – Interacting in Creative Ecosystems
A5 – Collective Action

Together, these competences support ecological transition, co-creation and ecosystem-based regeneration.  

Activities undertaken

The pilot expects 30–50 direct participants and 150–300+ indirect beneficiaries through public engagement, visitors and community involvement. Primary participants include educators and trainers, innovation incubators, think tanks, researchers, policymakers, private sector representatives, local community members, creative agents and artists, public sector representatives and local NGO partners. Secondary stakeholders include cultural institutions, regional development agencies, tourism operators, environmental organisations and health and well-being practitioners.

Activities include co-creation workshops, regenerative design labs, public forums and ecosystem dialogues, artistic residencies, mentorship sessions, field-based ecological immersion experiences, training sessions aligned with selected competences, desk research, ecosystem mapping and reflective learning circles using a triple-loop learning approach.

The pilot follows an approximate 9–12 month timeline. Months 1–2 focus on ecosystem mapping, stakeholder engagement and final pilot design. Months 3–10 focus on workshops, training modules, artistic experimentation, public engagement and regenerative interventions. Months 11–12 focus on evaluation, impact documentation, public presentation and a sustainability roadmap.

Outcomes and early learning

Expected outcomes include regenerative creative tourism experiences rooted in the Montado landscape, artistic interventions addressing sustainability and regeneration, health and well-being practices through creative engagement, stronger local creative ecosystems, and models for collective action in rural or territorial contexts. The pilot also aims to increase awareness of ecological transition through immersive artistic experiences and develop a replicable regenerative cultural model for other territories.

For the organisation, the pilot supports the development of ecosystem-based regenerative cultural practice, structured competence development, and the embedding of sustainability and collective action into organisational strategy. For the local ecosystem, it aims to strengthen collaboration between artists, communities, NGOs, public actors and private stakeholders, while building ecological literacy, creative tourism capacity and long-term territorial resilience.

The pilot is designed as a prototype for regenerative cultural ecosystems and may generate spin-offs such as additional artistic residencies, cross-border regenerative collaborations, policy-aligned ecosystem pilots, health and creative well-being programmes, digital-regenerative practices, youth and community engagement, and international collaboration.

Adding value

The pilot is valuable because it treats regeneration as a lived territorial practice rather than an abstract sustainability theme. Its strength lies in connecting ecology, artistic practice, well-being, tourism, community resilience and public-private collaboration through a shared competence framework. It also shows how CYANOTYPES can support rural and territorial ecosystems where creative action is directly tied to land, identity and long-term ecological responsibility.

Possible policy recommendations

This pilot suggests that policy makers, regional authorities and cultural funders should support regenerative creative ecosystems as a serious pathway for rural development, ecological transition and community well-being. Cultural policy and regional development policy often sit apart, but Montado ArtScapes shows the value of connecting artistic practice, environmental stewardship, creative tourism, health and local resilience.

Policy support could focus on funding place-based creative ecosystem pilots, supporting artistic residencies linked to ecological transition, strengthening partnerships between municipalities, NGOs, cultural organisations and tourism actors, and recognising creative well-being as part of regenerative regional development. The pilot also points to the importance of long-term support: regenerative cultural work needs time for trust, ecological learning, community participation and sustainable territorial impact to take root.