Conversations Cycle Artistic Migrations In and Beyond Lisbon I 3rd Session

Artistic Migrations In and Beyond Lisbon, organized by Ana Balona de Oliveira in a partnership  between the Centre for Comparative Studies (CEC-FLUL), the Institute for Art History (IHA-FCSH-UNL) and Hangar in Lisbon, is a series of conversations with artists, some of whom in residence at Hangar in the context of the artist residencies programme ‘180º Artistas ao Sul’, and other invited speakers. Through several media, the artists in question examine and problematize notions of identity and difference, not only national and diasporic, but also cultural, racial, class-based, gendered and sexual, as well as the notion of artistic production as a means for the investigation of history and memory, both collective and individual, both public and private, with the purpose of examining the contradictions of the present and imagining possible futurities.

In 2015, one year after the celebrations of the fortieth anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, the fortieth anniversary of the independence of Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Angola is being celebrated. This series is also envisaged as an open and diverse forum for the discussion of the historical legacies of the independencies, the utopias and realities produced by the anti-colonial struggles and post-independence nation-building, while not forgetting the civil wars that ensued, in a broad geopolitical context, their endings, the more recent decades of economic liberalization and globalization, and the way these histories and memories, their celebrations and problematizations are examined by contemporary artistic practice.

The series intends to open up a space for debate in which artistic practice is not only discussed with several audiences and made available to local communities but also conceived from the start as the outcome of dialogues, encounters, collaborations and transdisciplinary exchanges between various subjects, practices and contexts. The series will culminate with a publication of textual and visual material produced by the several participants and other invited contributors.

The photographic practice of Mário Macilau (Maputo, Mozambique, 1984) is a visual investigation focussing on identity, political, social and cultural issues. The main themes of his work have arisen from the combined experience of observation and memory of everyday surroundings in his home country, Mozambique. Often taking portraiture as a point of departure, Macilau has focussed on the way in which intimacy becomes the key to unlock a broader perspective or narrative, translated as the result of his working process. He has been investigating the complex realities of human labour and environmental conditions evolving over time, using his images as a form of visual confrontation with and a critical line of reflection on the real.

His work has been recognized by several awards (UNESCO-Aschberg for Visual Arts, Paris, 2015; AIR Award, Africa Centre, Cape Town & Fountainhead, Miami, 2015; VISA pour la Création, Institut Français, Paris, 2012; Crossing Point Residency, Les Rencontre d’Arles, 2012; Prix Pictet nomination, 2012; BES PHOTO nomination, 2011) and has been exhibited regularly in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in his home country and abroad. He was selected for participation in the 56th Venice Biennale, All the World’s Futures. His work has featured in leading art and photography publications and is included in several renowned collections worldwide. Mário Macilau participates in the artist residency programme ‘180° Artistas ao Sul’ at Hangar, Lisbon, in September 2015.
Gabriela Salgado is an Argentine-born curator based in London, where she obtained an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art. She has curated a large number of exhibitions and has lectured in over twenty countries. She specialized in Latin American art as Curator of the Collection of Latin American Art at Essex University, UECLAA (1999-2005) and was curator of Public Programmes at Tate Modern (2006-2011). She curated La Otra Bienal in Bogotá, Colombia (2013) and the 2nd Biennale of Thessaloniki, Greece (2009). She works internationally as curator and consultant and is currently directing a programme of exchanges between African and Latin American artists.