Presentation of the book “Artistic Practices, Participation and Politics

With: Benito Burgos (Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports), Isabel Bezelga (University of Évora), Isabel Menezes (University of Porto) and Álvaro Laborinho Lúcio (Writer)

Participatory and community artistic practices are of growing interest nowadays. The construction of these practices has happened in a double sense: if, on one hand, contemporary artistic creation has deepened its participatory dimension, on the other hand, education and community and social intervention have resorted to artistic languages as an alternative to traditional approaches. At a moment of particular danger for democracies and for our collective experience, this book seeks to cross contributions from art, participation, and politics, in an intense dialogue between theory and practice. Based on studies, unpublished in their dimension and depth, developed by the author in Portugal and Brazil in the last four years, involving 332 people from 23 theatrical groups, the fundamental elements of participatory and community artistic practices are discussed, as well as the potentialities and weaknesses that creative processes hold in their connection to civic and political participation.

Support: Mostra Espanha 2021 / Ministerio de Educación Cultura y Deporte / Spanish Embassy in Portugal
Duration: 60 min