The BoCA — Biennial of Contemporary Arts is being held under the theme ‘Camino Irreal’ with curation by cultural programmer John Romão, recently appointed as the artistic director for Évora European Capital of Culture 2027. This year’s edition aims to strengthen artistic ties between the Iberian capitals, involving 30 cultural institutions from both countries.
Gabriel Chaile’s ‘oven-sculpture’, named ‘Alcindo Monteiro’, starts its presentation today in Madrid. The piece honors the young Portuguese of Cape Verdean origin who was murdered in 1995 in Lisbon, in a racially motivated hate crime that remains a seminal point in the fight against racism in Portugal.
Made from clay and featuring anthropomorphic elements, the work is a part of Chaile’s ongoing research into collective memory and community rituals, integrating ancestral knowledge and artisanal practices with contemporary themes. It was initially shown in Lisbon during the previous biennale in 2023.
The installation will be displayed in Madrid for three afternoons as a collaboration with La Casa Encendida at Esto es Una Plaza in the Lavapiés neighborhood. It will be accompanied by a public program featuring musical and performative actions, fostering dialogue among artistic practices, the area, and local communities.
Running until October 26, BoCA seeks to establish a new Iberian axis for artistic creation and presentation, bringing together transdisciplinary projects that merge performing and visual arts, music, and cinema.
A highlight of this edition is the premiere of the opera ‘Adilson’, directed by Dino D’Santiago with a libretto by Rui Catalão, exploring the struggle of countless individuals for citizenship and the right to be recognized in the country they live in.
‘Coral dos Corpos sem Norte’, a production by Angolan artist Kiluanji Kia Henda, in collaboration with Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (TNDM), is set to debut on October 20 at Sala Estúdio Valentim de Barros, in the Jardins da Bombarda, Lisbon, and will show again the following day.
The piece contemplates migration as a “process of pemba”, a ritual for a journey “without beginning and end”. In describing the migration to the North, the presentation notes, “instead of paradises”, what is found is “an atrocious reality”, with the Mediterranean turned into “a graveyard of bodies without direction”. It reflects on Europe, colonialism, and post-independence periods in Africa.
Other programming highlights include a new public installation by artist Adriana Progranó, the performance ‘De espiral em espiral’, “which interweaves colonial history with family divination practices” by Guatemalan multimedia artist Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, and the performative vigil ‘O Julgamento de Pelicot’ by Swiss director Milo Rau, featuring actress Servane Dècle, presented previously at the Festival d’Avignon, “constructed from the real case of sexual violence that shocked France and the world, where justice is challenged within the art space”.
Filmmakers João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata will introduce their new film ’13 Alfinetes’, “which articulates devotion and desire in dialogue with the visual memory of Lisbon and Madrid”. Choreographer Tânia Carvalho and singer-performer Rocío Guzmán will present a concert that blends “traditional Portuguese song and flamenco to reflect on shared heritage”.
Additional programming features the project ‘Uma ficção na dobra do mapa’ by choreographers and dancers Elena Córdoba and Francisco Camacho, revisiting their initial meeting, and the creation ‘Os rapazes da praia de Adoro’, “drawing from queer imagination and masculine intimacy to explore the relationship between Portugal and Spain” by Spanish playwright-director Alberto Cortés and Portuguese painter João Gabriel.
The fifth edition of BoCA will be hosted at venues in Lisbon and Madrid, such as the Centro Cultural de Belém, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, MAAT, Culturgest, Teatro do Bairro Alto, Estufa Fria, Carpintarias de São Lázaro, and the Portuguese Cinematheque, as well as the Prado Museum, Reina Sofia Museum, Theatre of La Abadia, National Costume Museum, and Spanish Film Archive.
In statements to Lusa agency, curator John Romão emphasized the strong intent to “reinforce and expand” artistic and cultural relations between Iberian artists and institutions.
“We are genuinely restructuring, reinforcing, and expanding these Iberian relations […] which have not been addressed in this representative manner. We acknowledge the uncertainty in a constantly noisy world […]. It’s important to reimagine a more balanced future. Artistic creation is always an unreal path, one of refuge and resistance,” stated John Romão.
The BoCA curator assured that the participation of 20 Portuguese and 10 Spanish cultural entities marks “the largest involvement in a cultural project between Portugal and Spain to date”.
This edition also includes the exhibition ‘Dialeto’ by Felipe Romero Beltrán at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Chiado and at Carpintarias de São Lázaro, and the concert-performance ‘The Spirit Lamp’ by Chrystabell, at A Voz do Operário, with music by David Lynch.
In ‘¿De qué casa eres?’, visual artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga produced her first film, to be shown at Cinema Fernando Lopes, along with a performance related to the moving image.
The cycle ‘Quero ver as minhas montanhas’ revisits the legacy of Joseph Beuys from his own real and symbolic mountains.
