21-06-2022
Walk&Talk 11: In the first place starts in less than a month, with a program where position is the key element
The 11th edition of Walk&Talk - Arts Festival of the Azores takes place on the island of São Miguel between the 14th and 23rd of July, under the theme In First Place, and brings together artists, collectives and curators who present several new projects that cross visual arts, performance, music, architecture, and design.
In the first place proposes a reflection on what comes first, rethinking the current narratives and positionality as key in defining systems of power, knowledge, and identity. Questioning divergent temporal and spatial constructions, and recognizing multiple voices, presences and positions, the program intends to think of word, speech, sound and music as means of traveling in time. It proposes new perspectives and readings on the spaces we inhabit – physical or metaphorical, and the relationships we establish between geographies, resources, different species, and ideas.
Over the course of 10 days, Walk&Talk will once again have a “home” in Largo de São João, downtown Ponta Delgada, where a temporary pavilion will be built by Ilhéu Atelier, of Rita Sampaio and Afonso Botelho Santos. The W&T Pavilion welcomes the public and opens up to the city as a meeting and gathering point, but also as the main stage for the presentation of performances, such as 'The Fever Hand' by Vivian Caccuri, which opens the festival, or 'Water no get enemy', by Linda Lamignan; and a music program with concerts and dj sets by Dj Lycox, Dj Marcelle, Dj Milhafre, EXPAT, Fallon Mayanja, Jessica Khazrik, Laura Ortman, Lechuga Zafiro, Nazar, PMDS, Sonja, Soundpreta, Tape and WaqWaq Kingdom.
The program, however, occupies several other spaces and landscapes on the island of São Miguel, through projects that result from artistic residencies developed in the Azores between 2021 and 2022, but also from invitations and commissions.
vaga (headquarters of the Anda&Fala association) hosts the collective exhibition 'In the first place', with works by Caroline Monnet, Larry Achiampong, Linda Lamignan and Uyarakq, and the performance 'sensing Satellite - Condensed -' by Fallon Mayanja; Centro Municipal de Cultura, the individual exhibitions by Catarina Gonçalves, Cristóvão Maçarico and Tiago Patatas; Teatro Micaelense, the performance 'Cabraqimera' and the exhibition 'Poromechanics', by Catarina Miranda; Arquipélago - Contemporary Arts Center, the immersive installation by Estela Oliva (CLON) & Ana Quiroga; Galeria Fonseca Macedo, the exhibition by Maria Ana Vasco Costa; and Auditório Luís de Camões, the performance 'Visions' by Nástio Mosquito. Diogo da Cruz’s project takes shape at Portas do Mar (Piscinas do Pesqueiro), and artist Ellie Ga’s ‘Cagarro Assembly’ includes a presentation at Estúdio 13 and listening sessions throughout the festival, on the Rocha da Relva trail. Artist Matthew C. Wilson presents his work in Portugal for the first time.
W&T Soundsystem is a project designed and created specifically for the 11th edition, built by Sérgio Coutinho and Francisco Antão. As a programming device and an artistic and engineering object, the Soundsystem will travel through various spaces on the island, with a set of activations by invited artists and musicians, such as a conference-performance by the thinker and musicologist Edward George.
The excursion program, started in the last edition, returns with four unique trips, designed in collaboration with Rita Serra e Silva, which introduce São Miguel through the artistic works developed within the scope of the festival.
Throughout the entire period of the festival, the knowledge program takes place, with the Summer School W&T; the Talk About conversation cycle; and guided tours, workshops or open studios. Walkie-Talkie is the great novelty of this program, which presents a proposal for children and families on the morning of the festival's last day, with workshops and a concert-experience by WaqWaq Kingdom.
RARA - Design and Crafts Residency of the Azores returns for its 9th edition, where, under the coordination of Miguel Flor, designers Octavio Barrera and MACHEIA will collaborate with local artisans, crossing techniques, raw materials, "know-how" and affections for the creation of new objects. On the last weekend of the festival, the European project Centriphery (which Walk&Talk is a part of) will have its Azorean stage, with a collaborative and territorial project entitled "A Walk on the Edge", and developed by the performers Gustavo Ciríaco and Tellervo Kalleinen, the architects Mezzo Atelier and the musician Ovidiu Mihaita.
The 11th edition has curatorial coordination by Irene Campolmi, Jesse James, Joana Cardoso, Luís Brum and Sofia Carolina Botelho, and Walk&Talk - Arts Festival is funded by the Ministry of Culture of Portugal - DGArtes, Government of the Azores, Municipality of Ponta de Delgada , Turism of Portugal, Creative Europe, FLAD and Acción Cultural Espanõla.