There are places where art is displayed, and there are places where art becomes part of the landscape itself. On Pico Island, amid the UNESCO-listed vineyards carved from volcanic stone and overlooking the vast Atlantic, MiratecArts Gallery Costa has quietly created a space where creativity, nature, heritage, and sustainability exist not as separate disciplines but as a single living experience. That vision has now received renewed recognition through an official partnership with the Azores Geopark.

MiratecArts and its headquarters, Gallery Costa, located in the parish of Candelária in the municipality of Madalena, have been partners of the Azores Geopark for several years. This longstanding collaboration was recently formalized with the presentation of the Geopark’s official partnership plaque by Vanda Serpa, Director of the Pico Environmental and Climate Action Service, who made the presentation on behalf of the UNESCO Global Geopark to Terry Costa, President and Artistic Director of MiratecArts.

The ceremony symbolized more than institutional recognition. It celebrated a shared commitment to protecting and interpreting one of the world’s most remarkable volcanic landscapes through the complementary languages of science, culture, education, and the arts.

Over the past decade, MiratecArts has become one of the Azores’ most dynamic cultural organizations, producing an extraordinary range of artistic, educational, and tourism initiatives across the archipelago. Through festivals, artist residencies, exhibitions, guided cultural routes, performances, and community programs, the organization has demonstrated that culture can serve as a powerful catalyst for sustainable regional development while deepening public appreciation for the islands’ unique natural heritage.

At the heart of this mission is Gallery Costa itself.

Spread across 2.6 hectares, the property is far more than an outdoor gallery. It is an evolving artistic landscape where visitors follow a one-kilometer trail winding through the UNESCO World Heritage vineyard landscape, native vegetation, forest, and coastal scenery. Along the way, installations, paintings, sculptures, and carefully designed spaces invite visitors to experience art as an extension of the environment rather than something separated from it.

Among its most evocative spaces is the Jardim Saudade, a contemplative garden that embodies the property’s philosophy of creating meaningful encounters between artistic expression and the natural world. Throughout the grounds, experimental projects explore the relationship between creativity and ecology, including the extraction of natural pigments from endemic plants, environmental art installations, site-specific performances, and artistic research rooted in the volcanic landscape of Pico.

This commitment to integrating culture and nature has earned Gallery Costa recognition far beyond the Azores.

In addition to its partnership with the Azores Geopark, the property forms part of the Regional Government’s Rotas Açores: Cultural and Landscape Itineraries, the Municipality of Madalena’s Wine, Vineyard and Maroiços Route, and Portugal’s national Outdoor Arts Portugal network.

International travel and cultural publications have likewise celebrated its originality. Lonely Planet Pocket Azores included Gallery Costa among the archipelago’s Top 10 artistic spaces, while the Portuguese newspaper Expresso selected it as the Azores’ finest “Art Walk” in 2025. Earlier, in 2017, the Azores Media Association (AMA) recognized it among the “Azores Arts Top 10 Things To Do.”

Despite these distinctions, Gallery Costa remains remarkably accessible. The open-air property welcomes visitors free of charge and is open at all hours, allowing both residents and travelers to experience its evolving dialogue between art and landscape at their own pace.

Looking ahead, Terry Costa hopes to realize one of the property’s most meaningful ambitions: the reconstruction of the traditional stone house located at the entrance to the grounds.

For Costa, the restored building would become much more than a reception area. It would serve as an interpretation center, introducing visitors to the artistic, environmental, historical, and cultural significance of the property. Such a facility would be particularly valuable given the remarkable growth in visitation. During the first half of 2026 alone, Gallery Costa welcomed more than 3,000 visitors—the highest attendance in its history.

The renewed partnership also underscores the broader mission of the Azores Geopark, a UNESCO Global Geopark encompassing all nine islands of the archipelago. Recognized internationally for its exceptional volcanic heritage, the Geopark protects and promotes 121 terrestrial and marine geosites, including volcanoes, calderas, lava fields, caves, and coastal formations. Beyond conservation, its mission is to encourage sustainable development by connecting geological heritage with education, scientific research, local culture, and nature tourism.

Few places illustrate that philosophy more eloquently than Gallery Costa. Here, volcanic stone becomes sculpture, vineyards become galleries, forest trails become exhibition halls, and the landscape itself becomes both artist and canvas. The official Geopark partnership recognizes not simply an institution, but a vision—one in which art enriches our understanding of place and reminds us that cultural heritage and natural heritage are, ultimately, inseparable expressions of the same enduring landscape.