My umbrella is not dead

This hands-on citizen workshop transforms broken umbrellas into the Canopeia — a collective artwork and shared urban legacy. Hosted at the Mercado Municipal de Braga in partnership with the Municipality of Braga, this is an official EU Green Week 2026 Partner Event.

Participants arrive with one object: a broken umbrella. Through guided deconstruction, material discovery, and collective fabrication, they co-build the Canopeia — a living structure born from what we once called waste.

The session introduces the concept of phantom waste: the hidden material value embedded in objects once they lose their original function. The umbrella — composite, uncounted, unrecycled — becomes the proof of concept. And the citizen becomes the agent of change.

The workshop unfolds in 4 phases:

Welcome & Framing What is our relationship to the objects we discard? This opening phase invites participants to reflect on their own gestures as citizens — the moment we decide something is finished, worthless, disposable. We challenge that moment. This is not a waste. These are our broken umbrellas — and today, collectively, we decide what they become. The Canopeia is introduced: this is what we will build together.

Phase 1 — Deconstruction Manual dismantling of the umbrella. Material identification by touch, weight and resistance — carbon fibre, technical textile, metal, polymer. Understanding why each material was chosen by its manufacturer, and what remains when the object no longer functions. Discovering what possibilities live inside what we thought was dead. Note: dismantling a standard umbrella takes approximately 15 minutes.

Phase 2 — Recombination Guided ideation on what collective structure these materials can build together. Each participant maps their materials against the emerging Canopeia design. Group discussion on circular logic, construction decisions, and collective authorship.

Phase 3 — Fabrication Hands-on co-construction of the Canopeia from combined waste streams. Each participant contributes a tangible element. The collective artwork takes shape — built from our umbrellas, by our hands, for our city.

Reflection & Closing The Canopeia is here. From our broken umbrellas — discarded, forgotten, invisible — a shared object now exists. This closing moment marks a shift: what arrived as my waste leaves as our resource. The citizen changes rank — from passive consumer to co-author. From disposal to creation. The Canopeia is not the end of the workshop. It is the beginning of a different way of seeing.

Open to all — no prior experience required. Families, students, makers, educators, social workers, circular economy practitioners.

This workshop aims to:

• shift perception: our waste as our resource

• reveal the material value hidden in composite objects

• build collective authorship as a civic act

• mark the semantic transition from disposal to creation

• deliver a permanent collective artwork as shared urban legacy

When: Saturday 27 June 2026, 10:00–18:00 (WEST)

Where: Mercado Municipal de Braga, Praça do Comércio, 4700-370 Braga, Portugal Languages: Portuguese, English