Estado Ativo is an interdisciplinary artistic creation project that has brought together artists, essayists, academics and civil society organizations to reflect on various structuring themes of Democracy, such as the Economy, Justice, the Environment, Society, Education and Urbanism and, together with the community, co-create participatory artistic objects. It began in October 2023, with regular sessions at Fábrica da Criatividade, and will culminate in a final presentation, scheduled for June 22, between 5pm and 9pm, in the abandoned village of Azinheira, in Castelo Branco.
“How are we going to live together?” – Final presentation June 22nd . 17h – 21h . Azinheira Village, Castelo Branco.
SYNOPSIS
Estado Ativo is an interdisciplinary artistic creation project that has brought together artists, essayists, academics and civil society organizations to reflect on various structuring themes of Democracy, such as the Economy, Justice, the Environment, Society, Education and Urbanism and, together with the community, co-create participatory artistic objects. It began in October 2023, with regular sessions at the Creativity Factory, and culminated in a final presentation on June 22, between 5pm and 9pm, in the abandoned village of Azinheira, in Castelo Branco. Under the motto “How are we going to live together?”, the artistic objects developed by the participants throughout the project were presented, from poems to songs, performances, paintings and staged readings, in a participatory eco-artistic intervention, with the fictional purpose of installing a new democracy and celebrating Aldeia da Azinheira as an independent utopian state.
There were many of us celebrating and experiencing freedom, in conviviality, debate and artistic sharing.
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FRAMEWORK
“Active State” was developed on the basis of three different continuity actions:
PENSAR – a space for dialog with people who think in an alternative way in the areas of Economy, Justice, Environment, Society, Education and Urbanism. This action included 6 public lectures (one per area) of two hours each, with the motto “A Revolution in the Economy/Justice/Environment/Etc.”;
CREATE – a creative space where the group of participants worked closely and regularly with the project’s artistic management team and also on the basis of proposals made by artists from different disciplines (Music, Performance, Installation, Cinema, Poetry and Artivism). Six artists were invited to share their work and their creative processes. At the end of each session, each invited artist issued a creative challenge to the project group.
AGIR – a public exhibition space where participants and guest artists present the various artistic objects created during the project in an intervention in the public space of the abandoned village of Azinheira. On the night of April 24-25, a symbolic date, a public action was held where detailed planning was done for the sustainable artistic-social intervention to take place in the village of Azinheira, with the – fictionalized – purpose of installing a new democracy. These actions are the result of the stimuli left by the guest speakers and artists, as well as all the work carried out throughout the project.
Coordinated by philosopher André Barata, the whole process is accompanied by a group of thinkers, teachers and essayists who will provoke and strengthen the critical and active thinking of all those involved. They are: Judge Counselor Leonor Furtado, Júlio Ricardo (RedPES), Pedro Barreiro, Salomé Lamas, Alcides A. Monteiro, Anabela Dinis, Ana L. Santos, André Barata, Andreia Garcia, Ana Bártolo, Isabel Silva, Luís Madeira.
ARTISTIC AND TECHNICAL FILE
Artistic Director_ Óscar Silva with Ana Gil and Nuno Leão | Creation by_ Participants from the Castelo Branco community | Guest artists_ Fernando Aguiar, Joana Sá, Maria Remédio, Miguel Januário/MaisMenos, Pedro Barreio and Salomé Lamas | Speakers_ Álvaro Domingues, Apolo de Carvalho, Júlio Ricardo, Dra. Leonor Furtado, Magda Henriques and Pedro Pratas | Essays by_ Alcides A. Monteiro, Anabela Dinis, Ana L. Santos, André Barata, Andreia Garcia, Ana Bártolo, Isabel Silva and Luís Madeira | Theoretical coordination_ André Barata.
Partners: Museu da Paisagem, Afrolis – Associação Cultural, Universidade da Beira Interior, Rewilding Portugal, RedPES and Junta de Freguesia de Benquerenças Support: Universidade Lusófona, Antena 2, ESART – Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas, PRAXIS – Centro de Filosofia, Política e Cultura and AE Afonso Paiva and AE José Sanches and S. Vicente da Beira and Centro de Investigação em Património, Educação e Cultura (CIPEC).