The artist Cristina Ataíde will create a public artwork in the Ponta Delgada Urban Park, as part of the celebrations marking ten years of the Happy Cows Milk Program, a project developed in the context of Ponta Delgada – Portuguese Capital of Culture 2026, in partnership with Bel Portugal.
Designed as a homage to Azorean milk producers, partners of the program, the work starts from milk as the founding raw material, evoking the deep relationship between territory, nature, agricultural work and Azorean identity.
A concept that is born from milk and the land
The sculpture articulates, in a symbolic and contemporary way, direct references to cheese production: through the cincho, an ancestral element of the process, and through cheese itself as the final product, one of the most recognizable icons of the Azores.
These elements take shape in two brushed stainless steel hoops, intertwined in a dynamic way, resting on a base of white ceramic tile that visually recalls milk. The work thus creates a dialogue between tradition, matter and contemporary sculptural language.
“Milk is the starting point of this sculpture. The work is born from the fertile green soil, calling symbols directly linked to the producers and to the history of cheese production in the Azores. Art is an open work that should allow each person to build their own interpretation,” says Cristina Ataíde.
Ponta Delgada Urban Park: art in public space
The choice of the Ponta Delgada Urban Park reinforces the work’s vocation as a public-interest element, accessible to the local community, visitors and families, integrating into the urban landscape as a space for gathering, contemplation and dialogue.
Involvement of local partners and suppliers
The project involves the involvement of local partners and suppliers, reinforcing the link to the territory and the regional economy. Serralharia Lagoense will be responsible for the stainless steel work, while Só Água Açores will ensure the execution of the ceramic base that symbolically represents milk.
This collaboration underscores the project’s commitment to valorizing regional know-how and to an approach rooted in the Azorean context.
The sculpture will be inaugurated on March 20, 2026, as part of the World Agriculture Day celebrations, as a symbolic tribute to Azorean milk producers, to the animals and to the connection to the land — pillars of the Happy Cows Milk Program, a pioneering sustainability program launched ten years ago by Bel Portugal.
