On September 19, 2025, the Visual Lab Arts Festival took place at Rancho Limón in Ronda, Málaga, Spain, as a core action of the trans-European CARAVANE – Climate Art Fusion project. The rural estate, designed entirely around bioconstruction, regenerative agriculture, and circular-economy principles, served as both the physical venue and a living pedagogical classroom. By embedding compost systems, eco-toilets, and permaculture gardens directly into the event’s framework, the festival successfully transitioned environmental theory into a tangible, lived experience for young artists and local students.

The intensive program featured a diverse network of multi-disciplinary workshops throughout the day. Morning sessions engaged students from Pérez de Guzmán High School in ecofeminist movement practices led by Valentine Rochat, alongside collaborative urban-mapping and eco-social decision-making scenarios facilitated by Florian Farcy. Concurrently, participants collaborated with fine arts students from the University of Málaga and Dr. Eugenio Rivas Herencia to build six large-scale totemic bioconstruction sculptures out of recycled wood, plant fibers, and clay to represent core human needs. The landscape was further transformed by civic mural interventions permanently painted by artists Isa Nieto, Luisa García, and Carlos Orduña, depicting regional cultural histories and Indigenous ecological myths.

The educational ecosystem was rounded out by specialized sessions in cooperative group dynamics with Sergio Álvarez de Neira, ancestral plant medicine knowledge rooted in Colombian Indigenous traditions with Maryolis Quijano, and graphic linocut printmaking with Miguel Martos. The day culminated in an immersive sensory performance titled “Invisible Edible Garden – Getting Down in the Mud” by the CARDO Collective. Using rescued foods, textured soils, and ritualistic barefoot movement, the performance allowed participants to process complex ecological cycles through touch, taste, and sound—solidifying their role as active cultural leaders in the cross-border narrative for climate justice.