In the second half of 2023, Culturgest celebrates its 30th anniversary with several national premieres and a new exhibition space. Environmental crimes, political-sexual approaches, gender and identity issues, emptying versus overpopulation of territories or the place of the Earth in the Universe are some of the themes addressed in this season.
Highlight for the theater with Agnieszka Polska, Albano Jerónimo, Cláudia Lucas Chéu and the Hotel Europa company; in dance, highlight to Jan Martens, Milo Rau and Nadia Beugré who present their most recent shows; in music, the celebration of the anniversary of Culturgest (which opened its doors on October 11, 1993) takes place with two concerts by Ricardo Toscano - who is also entering his third decade in 2023 -, concerts presenting new works by Luís Severo and Joana Sá and with international names like Alessandro Cortini and Nivhek (also known as Grouper).
In the area of conferences, one of the most renowned philosophers of our time, Paul B. Preciado, the environmentalist philosopher Elisa Aaltola will be present, as well as two cycles of conferences: Places, Proximities and Territory and Here, in the Universe. Culturgest also hosts the Humanity Summit, a meeting that brings together human rights defenders, heads of state, politicians, agents of change, and the Common Stories/Common Stories event, in collaboration with the Alkantara festival, which brings together several national and European cultural entities. In the visual arts, in connection with the celebration of Culturgest's thirtieth anniversary, a new exhibition space with free admission is inaugurated - located in the area of the former Culturgest bookstore, with an exhibition dedicated to editions by Alberto Carneiro - and a large exhibition is presented dedicated to the Caixa Geral de Depósitos Collection, showing older and more recent works by a wide variety of artists, as well as the continuation of the Território cycle, with exhibitions in Lisbon and Porto.
THEATER
The Talking Car/The Talking Car, Agnieszka Polska, 14 and 15 SET
The Mine and Mine Court, Hotel Europa, OCT 6-8
My Friend H., Albano Jerónimo, Cláudia Lucas Chéu, 18-20 JAN
Between September and January, Culturgest presents three theater shows. As part of the BoCA Biennial, Polish artist Agnieszka Polska, awarded the National Gallery Prize (Berlin), presents her first theater play, The Talking Car, a play where a group of people try to get out of a car at high speed. Repetitive music and hypnotic animations add to the melancholy of this immersive tale about the complex system of human and non-human agents.
The documentary theater company Hotel Europa presents a program of two shows related to the mining town of São Pedro da Cova: A Mina and Tribunal Mina. A Mina addresses the history of São Pedro da Cova, haunted by the mining unit, which, for two centuries, was the main livelihood of families and how its deactivation created serious social problems; Tribunal Mina deals with a case from 2001, when tons of toxic waste from the National Steel Industry were deposited in coal mines, with tragic environmental impacts. The interpretation is done by inhabitants of São Pedro da Cova, who share their life stories with the public.
Albano Jerónimo and Cláudia Lucas Chéu present O Meu Amigo H., based on the drama My Friend Hitler, by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, which addresses the relationship between the German dictator and three close figures. In adapting the play, Albano Jerónimo and Cláudia Lucas Chéu move away from its historical context and approach the spectrum of intolerance and resentment of current times.
DANCE
Any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones, Jan Martens/GRIP & Dance On Ensemble, 22 and 23 SET
Antigone in the Amazon, Milo Rau /NTGent, 11 and 12 NOV
Prophetic (We Are Born), Nadia Beugré, 24 and 25 NOV
In dance, Belgian choreographer Jan Martens presents any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones, a title that comes from a quote by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Hong Kong protests in 2019, and serves as an ominous sign of physical violence and word that characterizes our times. The grand show features 17 performers on stage and is an ode to individual freedom.
Within the scope of the Alkantara Festival, two shows are presented: Antígona na Amazónia, by Milo Rau/NTGent and Profético (Nós Já Nascemos), by Nadia Beugré. Artistic director Milo Rau presents Antigone in the Amazon, a show that crosses European mythology with the current struggle to save the Amazon through a dialogue between interventions and filmed passages. Artistic director Nadia Beugré returns to Portugal with Profético (Nós Já Nascemos), about a group of people from the trans community in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where Nadia Beugré was born. The show develops a choreographic investigation about gender, identity and life on the periphery of the norm. The choreography brings together two realities on stage, sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive.
MUSIC
Alessandro Cortini & Marco Ciceri, Nati Infiniti, 19 SEP
Concerts 30 years Culturgest: Ricardo Toscano with Strings and Ricardo Toscano Trio, Chasing Contradictions, OCT 11 and 12
Nivhek, Engine (with film by Takashi Makino), 8 NOV
Luís Severo, Sooner or later, 14 DEC
Joana Sá, Corpo-Escuta/a body as listening, 12 JAN
In music, highlight for international electronics, with the presence of three fundamental names. The first, in September, is Alessandro Cortini, known for being one of the elements of the North American band Nine Inch Nails. He presents Nati Infiniti (Born Infinito) in a stage version of the installation he showed at the first edition of Sónar in Lisbon, in 2022. With him will be the visual artist Marco Ciceri, responsible for the images on the big screen at Culturgest.
In November, Liz Harris, better known as Grouper, reactivates her Nivhek project. Like Alessandro Cortini, Engine will be a short European tour of the concert version of an installation inaugurated at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland, United States, earlier this year. Throughout an original film by Takashi Makino, Liz explores the mechanical and brutal sound of drag races - high-performance car racing, creating a sonic metaphor with power, excess and the very destruction of the planet's resources.
In national music, the highlight is the double concert that celebrates 30 years of Culturgest. Ricardo Toscano, who also celebrates his 30th birthday in 2023, is the host and brings us two projects: first, on October 11th, he joins his quartet with the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra for a version of the classic Charlie Parker with Strings, from 1950 , in a concert conducted by conductor and arranger Pedro Moreira, current president of Hot Clube de Portugal.
The next day, the 12th, Ricardo Toscano brings his trio to present his award-winning 2022 album, Chasing Contradictions — Play award for the best jazz record; considered by critics the best jazz album of 2022 or appearing on the list of the best albums of the year by various means.
In December, Luís Severo presents his most recent album, Cedo ou Tarde, which will be released in the last quarter of this year. Made of opposites — morning and night, light and dark, optimism and pessimism — Luís Severo takes a social and political look at our challenges as a society, and offers us some hope for the apocalypses we witness every day.
In January, composer and pianist Joana Sá presents Corpo-Escuta/a body as listening: a concert-performance that is just one of the many facets of an immense project that she will carry out over the coming months — in addition to the concert at Culturgest, there will be a book, an album, an online installation and a lecture-performance. On stage, sound reflections on bodies that resonate, that can be instruments, on objects that can be instruments, on our senses.
CONFERENCES AND DEBATES
Love as a Moral Method: Biophilia in the Age of Climate Change, Species Extinction and Animal Industries, Elisa Aaltola, 13 SET
I Am the Monster That Speaks to You, Paul B. Preciado, 17 SEP
Humanity Summit, 21 SEP
Environmental Crimes, Andreia Galvão, André Amálio, Rui Berkemeier, Teresa Havlíčková, Viriato Soromenho-Marques, 4 OUT
Cycle Places, Proximities and Territory, curated by José Reis and Liliana Coutinho, 14 NOV - 5 DEC (The Care of the Place, Jeff Malpas, 14 NOV; All Times Will Cross. Caring for a Country, Désirée Pedro, Carlos Antunes, Maria Manuel de Oliveira, 22 NOV; Back to Maps: Inscribing Places and Freeing Hands, José António Bandeirinha, José Reis and Magda Henriques, DEC 5)
Histórias Comums/Common Stories, Part of the European project Common Stories, 22 NOV
Cycle Here, in the Universe, in partnership with the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences, 30 JAN-30 APR 2024 (A Terra, à Luz de outros Planetas, Pedro Machado, Ricardo Trigo, 30 JAN)
In the area of lectures, Finnish philosopher Elisa Aaltola explores different philosophical and psychological definitions of love, applying them to the contemporary context and exploring the concept of love for nature and animals, known as Biophilia. Continuing with the environmental theme, the Environmental Crimes conversation takes place, in which André Amálio and Teresa Havlíčková, authors of the play Tribunal Mina, Andreia Galvão, employee of Hotel Europa and environmental activist, Rui Berkemeier, employee of Associação ZERO and Viriato Soromenho- Marques, a philosopher with a recognized environmentalist activity. Based on the investigations carried out in the context of the Mina Court, the debate focuses on the theme of environmental crimes committed in Portugal and in Europe.
On humanitarian issues, and as part of the BoCA Bienal, Paul B. Preciado, one of the biggest names in philosophy today, a trans man, challenges psychoanalysis to open up to new political-sexual approaches with Eu Sou o Monstro Que Vos Fala. Still on the same theme, and in partnership with the Humanity Summit, Culturgest hosts the Humanity Summit, an event that brings together a variety of specialists in issues related to human rights, members of civil society, heads of state, politicians, agents of change , impact investors, business leaders and students with the aim of creating a platform that drives urgently needed changes in the world.
This season, Culturgest approaches the theme of territory from different perspectives. The Cycle Places, Proximities and Territory will be presented, which proposes a look at the Portuguese territory beyond the usual interior-coast, city-country, emptying and concentration dualities. All times will cross. Caring for a Country proposes to demonstrate how, in a context of emptying of the country and hyperconcentration of the population in certain areas, architecture and art seek to find strategies that have been able to structure the territory. In the same context, the conference Back to Maps: Inscribing Places and Freeing Hands questions the role of the map in modern times, where its simplification has generated spatial injustice and territorial inequalities.
Also part of the Alkantara festival and part of the European project Common Stories, Culturgest also presents Histórias Comuns/Common Stories, which brings together Maison de la Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis (Paris), Alkantara Festival and Culturgest (Lisbon), among other entities, in a three-year project around diversity in the performing arts. In November, the city of Lisbon receives the first CommonLAb artistic laboratory, in the Alkantara space, bringing together emerging artists who work on issues of identity and diversity, and the first public discussion of the Fábrica de Boas Praticas, at Culturgest, on how to welcome diversity in institutions cultural.
Finally, there will be room for the universe with the Here in the Universe cycle. Culturgest and the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA) are partnering to bring together researchers and thinkers in dialogue, which unite scientific culture with human concerns and disturbances of human origin.
VISUAL ARTS
Fazer, Território #4, Fidelidade Arte, Lisbon, Opening on 22 SET, 25 SET-5 JAN, Culturgest Porto, Opening on 2 FEB, 3 FEB-12 MAY
Desecrations, Território #3, Culturgest Porto: Opening on 29 SET, 30 SET-14 JAN
Ideas, Projects and Involvements, Alberto Carneiro, Inauguration on 13 OCT, 14 OCT- 21 JAN
Fantasma Gaiata - The CGD Collection, Culturgest Lisboa, Opening on 13 OCT, 14 OCT- 21 JAN
They continue:
#slow #stop... #think #move, Territory #2, Culturgest Porto, Until SEP 10
Spring-Summer Collection, Ana Santos, Culturgest Lisboa, Until 10 SET
In visual arts, in Lisbon, in addition to the exhibitions, a new exhibition space will be inaugurated. In 2023, in the week of Culturgest's anniversary, a new exhibition space will be inaugurated in Lisbon's galleries, occupying the space of the former bookstore. It will be dedicated to free entry exhibitions that depart from the broad idea of a book and related notions such as editing, writing, documentation, inscription, paper, among others. On the pretext of presenting the work O Canavial: Memória Metamorfose de um Corpo Absente, in the exhibition celebrating 30 years of Culturgest, the first moment of this new space is dedicated to editions by Alberto Carneiro. Among posters, catalogues, brochures, serigraphs or books designed by Carneiro, the works assembled will constitute the largest exhibition of editions by the artist to date.
Continuing the celebration of the anniversary, Fantasma Gaiata - The CGD Collection is presented. The year 2021 marked the return of programmatic acquisitions for the Caixa Geral de Depósitos Collection – considered one of the most relevant Portuguese contemporary art collections in the country. In connection with the celebration of Culturgest's thirtieth anniversary, it opens the galleries so that the public can once again come into contact with this important collection. The exhibition will pay special attention to the most recent acquisitions.
At Fidelidade Arte, in Lisbon, and at Culturgest Porto, the Território cycle continues to be presented, a partnership between Fidelidade Arte and Culturgest - which brings to publics in both cities a set of nine group exhibitions conceived by as many national curators. The third moment of the Território cycle inaugurates Profanações, curated by David Revés, at Culturgest Porto, and the Território #4 exhibition entitled Fazer presents, simultaneously, a magazine and an exhibition. Conceived by Frederico Duarte and Vera Sacchetti, who work in the area of design criticism and curatorship. Do seeks to define the agency spheres of contemporary design through the voices of those who shape it. Each exhibition concludes with the release of the printed magazine.
MOVIE THEATER
Doclisboa, OCT 19-29
In the area of cinema, Doclisboa returns to Culturgest for its twenty-first edition, highlighting the retrospective dedicated to the coalition of radical filmmakers who, in the midst of the Great Depression, fought for the birth of the Social Documentary, as an instrument of justice in the America of the "New Deal". Doclisboa proposes a program that brings together different perspectives and ways of thinking about the world, history and the future. The sections Risks, From Earth to the Moon, Heart Beat, Verdes Anos and Cinema de Urgência return, the International and Portuguese competitions, the space for professionals, Nebulae, and the festival's educational project.
PARTICIPATION
Motion, Teatro do Frio, 24-26 NOV
2050 Mindstorm, September 26
Within the scope of participation, Culturgest continues to present artistic projects that favor social involvement, focused on interaction and collaboration. It presents Motion, by Teatro do Frio, a research and creation project that crosses procedures and methodologies of theater and contemporary dance with the context of the visual arts.
There will be one more edition of Brainstorm - under the theme 2050 Brainstorm. A project that brings together a set of conferences aimed at young people from 15 to 18 years old. 2050 Mental Storm is a challenge to the realization of futures: from human communities to the relationship with animals and nature, from legislation to ceremonies and rituals. What can you do in 90 minutes?
SOURCE: Culturgest