Organized by the Municipality of Arouca and the Arouca School Group, the initiative aims to foster young people's engagement with outdoor drawing techniques, encouraging creativity and artistic exploration of the territory, heritage, and local landscape, guided by invited artists.
The program began at 9:00 AM this Friday, at the Center for Experimentation of Artistic Practices – Casarão da ESA, with welcome remarks for participants by the vice-president of the Municipal Chamber, Cláudia Oliveira, and the director of the School Group, Amélia Rodrigues. This was followed by a first Urban Sketching workshop, led by artist Valeryia Zonenberg, in Arouca's historic center. In the afternoon, students explored this urban drawing approach again, under the guidance of artist Lília Amar.
The second day of the Sketching Fest Arouca is scheduled for November 6th, with a drawing session at the Paiva Walkways, led by urban sketcher Vasco Mota. This emblematic route, located on the left bank of the Paiva River, and other reference points of the Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark will serve as inspiration for the participants' work.
The initiative will culminate in a collective exhibition of the drawings created over the two days. The exhibition will open on November 6th, at 5:00 PM, at the Casarão da ESA, and will be freely accessible to the community until November 30th, from Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and also open on Saturday, November 28th, during the same hours.
The Sketching Fest Arouca is the first artistic initiative hosted by the Center for Experimentation of Artistic Practices since the completion of its renovation works in September 2026. The festival concept, born in 2025 in Sabrosa, is dedicated to outdoor drawing, bringing together artists and enthusiasts of this practice, regardless of age or experience level.
