BoCA Arts Biennial aims to "strengthen and expand" Iberian cultural relations

The biennial will take place for the first time in both capitals, until October 26, with world premieres by artists from both countries, with special emphasis on an opera staged by singer Dino d'Santiago, which will be on national and international tour until 2027.

"It may seem like we're always starting from scratch, but it's very important to recognize that we're not. We're truly restructuring, strengthening, and expanding these Iberian relationships that are so close and dear to us, but which have rarely been worked on in such a representative way," emphasized the person in charge, contacted by Lusa news agency about the 5th edition of the biennial.

'Camino Irreal' is the theme of the program still designed by John Romão, curator, cultural programmer and director who this year was chosen as the artistic director of Évora European Capital of Culture.

In Spain, during the monarchy, the expression 'Camino Real' was used to designate the paths that connected cities protected by royalty: "Here [at the biennial] we are interested in 'twisting' the word real [to unreal], questioning these certainties of places controlled by a certain power, embracing the imagination and resistance of unofficial discourses", explained the curator to Lusa.

"We are recognizing the uncertainty in a world of constant noise, and viewing the unreal as a safe and fertile place in a constructive sense. It is important to reimagine a more balanced future. The space of artistic creation is always an unreal path of refuge and resistance," considered John Romão.

Between September 10th and October 26th, the 5th edition of BoCA will bring together transdisciplinary projects that cross the performing arts, visual arts, music, and cinema, and, in parallel, organize debates and workshops in museums, theaters, art galleries, cultural centers, and heritage facilities.

The opera 'Adilson', staged by Dino D'Santiago with a libretto by Rui Catalão, will focus on the current struggle of thousands of people for citizenship and the right to be recognized in the country where they live.

John Romão also highlighted -- among the absolute premieres -- the invitation to Adriana Progranó, winner of the EDP Foundation New Artists Award, to create her first installation for the public space, at the Quadrum Gallery in Lisbon, entitled 'Echoes of whispers, plimplim', and 'Pemba', a large-scale installation by the Angolan artist Kiluanji Kia Henda, about migratory flows and memory.

Since its inception, BoCA has always been presented every two years in two cities simultaneously -- the capital and also Porto, Braga, Almada and Faro -- but the unprecedented extension beyond borders, to Madrid, "opens a new stage in the biennial's journey, in an international dimension that was already developed in co-productions, but never, until now, had included a foreign city."

"We are very interested in strengthening inter-institutional relations and triggering unprecedented collaborations between artists residing in Portugal and Spain, and in the circulation of these creations across the two cities during the seven-week biennial period," he highlighted to Lusa, reiterating the unprecedented nature of the event and the institutional representation.

The curator of the BoCA biennial stated that the participation of 20 Portuguese and ten Spanish cultural entities "is the largest number involved in a cultural project between Portugal and Spain to date."

The Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Casa Incendida and the La Abadia Theater are some of the cultural spaces that will host BoCA's programming in the Spanish capital.

"We see this relationship with Madrid as a beginning, and we hope to deepen it in the future, and expand this network that is so representative of the artistic and creative sectors of both countries," reiterated the programmer, who invited artists from different creative territories.

An example of this is the project by Spanish playwright Alberto Cortês with painter João Gabriel, or that of playwrights Tiago Rodrigues and Patrícia Portela to create two short plays for the Museo Nacional do Prado.

"We want to open up the discussion on how theater writing can engage with classical painting in museums, where dance has been the protagonist. We're interested in provoking new challenges for these spaces and artists," the programmer noted.

Also on the program, in the Spanish capital, are the installation 'Alcindo Monteiro' by Gabriel Chaile, at the Esto es una plaza space, in the Lavapiés neighborhood, and the film-concert 'Belonging', by Raquel André, at the Réplika Teatro.

John Romão commented that, despite not continuing as curator of the biennial for the next edition, in 2027, he confessed that "I would really like this relationship with Madrid to be further strengthened, because it involved a lot of work, and there is a lot to be explored."

"We revived partnerships between the Portuguese Cinematheque and the Spanish Film Library, with a film series and the premiere of a new short film by João Pedro Rodrigues. We revived some artistic relationships that had been somewhat suspended, such as that between choreographers Francisco Camacho and Helena Córdoba, who were together ten years ago at the Citemor Festival, and now emerge with a new collaboration on the issue of the body and aging," he explained, adding two new names in Lisbon from the field of dance: Candela Capitán and Marcos Morau.

Also featured in the program of the 5th edition of BoCA will be the performative vigil 'The Trial of Pelicot', by Swiss director Milo Rau, with actress Servane Dècle, premiered in Vienna, Austria, and presented in July at the Festival d'Avignon, in France.

The four-hour "performative vigil" reconstructs the real-life case of sexual violence suffered by Giselle Pelicot in France - a case that shocked the world - and during which texts will be read by several guests at the National Pantheon.

In addition to these, the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, Culturgest, Estufa Fria, Teatro do Bairro Alto and Carpintarias de São Lázaro will also host this edition of the biennial in Lisbon.

Also scheduled for this edition are the exhibition 'Dialeto', by Felipe Romero Beltrán - which will take place between the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Chiado and the Carpintarias de São Lázaro, and the concert-performance 'The Spirit Lamp', by Chrystabell, at A Voz do Operário, which will feature instrumental compositions by David Lynch in this edition.

In the film and performance '¿De qué casa eres?', visual artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga created her first film and, with it, a performance that extends that relationship, to be shown at Cinema Fernando Lopes, and the performance cycle 'I want to see my mountains' - a revisitation of Joseph Beuys' legacy based on his own real and symbolic mountains.