ReCreate x Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

ReCreate developed a partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to transform materials from past exhibitions and events into new design objects.

The project began with a shared intention: to extend the life of materials that had already served a cultural purpose, giving them a new function through design, craft and careful production.

More than 120 m² of advertising banners from the Foundation were reused by ReCreate and transformed into wallets and bags, later made available at the Gulbenkian Museum Shop.

From Exhibition Material to Museum Shop Objects

The materials came from previous exhibitions and events held by the Foundation.

These banners had once communicated art, culture and public programmes. After their first use, they were stored — still carrying colour, typography, image fragments and visual memory.

At ReCreate, these qualities became the starting point.

Instead of treating the material as waste, the studio approached it as a surface with history. Each cut was guided by colour, scale, graphic composition and resistance, allowing the original identity of the banners to remain visible in a new form.

In 2023, ReCreate produced more than 300 pieces for this collaboration. Models such as the John and Peter wallets, the Inversa Bag and the Alex Bag were selected to give a new life to Gulbenkian materials.

Each piece became unique, shaped by the specific fragment of banner used in its construction.

A Partnership with Cultural Memory

This collaboration brought a new layer of meaning to ReCreate’s work.

Every banner from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation carried a connection to exhibitions, artists, events and cultural moments. Working with these materials meant entering a visual archive and transforming it into objects that could continue to circulate.

For ReCreate, this is one of the most meaningful aspects of institutional projects: the possibility of preserving fragments of cultural memory through everyday design.

A museum banner becomes a wallet.
A light box material becomes a bag.
A temporary communication support becomes an object with permanence.

Design That Extends the Life of Materials

The ReCreate x Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation partnership shows how museum materials can continue beyond their original use.

Through design, stored exhibition and event materials were transformed into functional pieces for the museum shop — objects that visitors can carry, use and keep.

This is where ReCreate’s mission becomes concrete: piece by piece, square metre by square metre, existing materials gain a new life, a new form and a new place in the world.