The School of Arts once again marks its presence at the Semibreve Festival, taking place in Braga from 22 to 25 October 2026. In its 16th edition, the festival features World Wide Wood, an installation by Rita Castanheira, a PhD student in Science and Technology of the Arts, selected for the Edigma Semibreve Scholar programme.

Presented at gnration, Edigma Semibreve Scholar is an initiative by the Semibreve Festival, developed in partnership with the company EDIGMA, which promotes and showcases artistic, sound and multimedia projects developed by higher education students.

Inspired by James Bridle’s book Ways of Being, World Wide Wood draws on the concept of the wood wide web. Bridle highlights the “wood wide web” as an example of plant intelligence, showing how trees communicate and share resources through underground fungal networks. The conversations heard throughout the video reveal how disconnected we feel from ourselves, from others and from nature, as well as a general lack of a sense of belonging. The work gradually unfolds as an attempt to understand plants and their ways of communicating.

The piece calls for interconnection and cooperation between species, proposing a new way of thinking that moves away from speed and relentless growth, and instead focuses on the self-preservation of communities that take into account the ecosystems they are part of.

World Wide Wood can be visited at gnration in Braga on 22, 23 and 24 October. On Thursday, 22 October, visiting hours are from 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm; on Friday and Saturday, 23 and 24 October, from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm. Admission is free during these hours.