Release of the book “Práticas artísticas, participação e política”

The launching of the book “Práticas artísticas, participação e política” (Artistic practices, participation and politics), by Hugo Cruz, will be taking place on November 9, at 6.30 p.m., at Centésima Página. Passeio and the Master in Communication, Art and Culture from the University of Minho are the book promoters.

Book synopsis

“Participatory and communitarian artistic practices are currently drawing increasing interest. The construction of these practices is twofold: if, on the 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 perilous turning point for democracies and our collective experience, this book seeks to merge art, participation, and political contributions 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 Based on studies, unpublished in their dimension and depth, developed by the author in Portugal and Brazil in the last four years, involving 332 people from 23 theatre groups, the book discusses the fundamental elements of participatory and community arts practices and the potential and fragilities of creative processes in their connection with civic and political participation”.

Hugo Cruz was born in Porto in 1978. In the field of psychology, his work has focused on Community and Social Interventions. He is currently devoted to consultancy, programming, and artistic creation for performances in public spaces and different communities’ participation. He is a researcher at CIIE – Centre for Research and Intervention in Education of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto and the Centre for Art History and Artistic Research at the University of Évora. He teaches Artistic Creation and Civic and Political Participation at ESMAE. Hugo is a programmer of Mira Artes Performativas, the co-founder of PELE – núcleo do Teatro do Oprimido do Porto and the artistic director of MEXE – International Art and Community Meeting. He is a member of the external evaluation team of the PARTIS initiative – Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Hugo was also the artistic director of Imaginarius – International Festival of Street Theatre and now works as an artistic consultant in several other national and international projects.

[Posted: 02-11-2021]