Lisbon: STAR Project to strengthening communitarian identity and cohesion

Lisbon hosted the second International event of the European project “STreet ARt project” – co-funded by Europe for Citizen Programme of the European Union –  from the 13th to the 15th of October, 2021. It was hosted by the project partners Junta Fregasio Beato Municipality in collaboration with Clube Intercultural Europeu.

The three-day event was full of activities and opportunities to learn from each other and spend time together.

On the first day they had a welcoming and project technical meeting, where each presented the latest results of the ongoing local participatory process leading to the realization of mural.

On the second day, participants had a study visit to As Costas da Cidade (Backside of the city), one of the projects implemented as a part of a strategy aimed at reintegrating one of the marginalised neighborhoods of Lisbon and strengthening communitarian identity and cohesion, through street art and guided tours led and managed by residents. During the 2 hours tour led by locals and representative of the citizens’ association Associação Geração com Futuro, the most iconic murals.

Reintegrating one of the marginalised neighborhoods of Lisbon and strengthening communitarian identity and cohesion

In the afternoon, ALDA project manager Nadia Di Iulio together with Camilla Pieri cultural operator at CO.LORE | Collettivo Loredana | Performative Woman held the workshop “Imaginable compromises”: a theoretical and practical workshop on the relationship between compromises and artistic expression, reflecting on the management  and overcoming of legal, environmental, social etc. limits that may be encountered in the development of an artistic project aimed at disseminating an inclusive message. 

After an introduction of the sharing case studies, participants were grouped and a working sessions started in two rounds. In the first round “Unleash your creativity”, participants were asked to develop an artistic project for social purposes specifying time, budget, community, space with no limits conditions. In the second round “What if…”, Nadia and Camilla imposed fixed limits for each of the above mentioned parameter (eg. budget upon €100, 1 day, etc.), and participants had to adapt their project according to the news condition, finding suitable and imaginable compromises without reducing artistic expression and the social purposes. 

Finally, in a plenary, each group presented both projects and well, amazing ideas and interesting reflections came out.

On the final day, participants had a tour at the Panoramico de Monsanto, one of the most emblematic urban space in Lisbon and the stage of the Festival Iminenete. An abandoned restaurant, it is now an open space for murals and street artworks, including an amazing 360° view of the city.

This 2nd meeting in Lisbon was a great occasion to further develop STAR project, and exchange with partners. A particular “thank you” to  Clube Intercultural Europeu which organized such a interesting and fruitful meeting.