1st Utopian Workshop

SYNOPSIS

There is always an idea of what a place can be like if there is no restraint on the imagination. We always have a less conventional fantasy about how a space could be inhabited if we were given free rein to think about it. This is how MALACATE's impossible workshops come about - if the power of transformation were all of the people, and there were no budget limits, what would those places look like? What alternatives do we imagine for the ruins, the bridges, the roofs?  This utopian workshop will take place next to the ruins of the Mina de S. Domingos mining complex, in the area known as Achada do Gamo.   It is here that, the participants, and with the guidance of Nádia Torres and Miguel Maia of MALACATE's artistic direction, will be given the opportunity to think about the place with the support of the artistic tools at their disposal. What does the rocky liability present here represent? How can this heritage be transformed into something new? How can you look at such a barren place and imagine life from it? Is it possible to think about the future when the past screams so impressively?  

GOALS

• Link between past and contemporary and between real and fiction
• Reflection and appreciation of the place
• Experience expressive possibilities of materials
• Dialogue about what is seen and felt, in order to build multiple discourses and interpretations of reality.

IMPLEMENTATION

Throughout the day, participants are invited to perform imaginary figures/characters in copper wire and slag. In the end, the figures will be integrated into the local landscape and photographed.

MATERIALS USED

Copper wire and pliers.

For more information contact: 

producao.malacate@cepatorta.org / +351 924 744 056