“This will be a 50-hour ‘non-stop’ [without interruption] event, held in a very festive environment with a highly multidisciplinary program. It will feature everything from circus arts, music, performance, dance, theatre, exhibitions, cinema, visits to our park, and other exhibitions,” the festival’s director, Rui Costa, told journalists today.
Rui Costa noted that Serralves will host over 500 artists from more than 20 nationalities and over 100 activities, highlighting that last year the event attracted 265,000 attendees.
Among the highlights, Costa mentioned, “in music, the Spiritualized, which is one of the standout moments of Serralves em Festa, or, from Portugal, the Três Tristes Tigres, who will present new work.”
“In dance, we will feature the 20 Dancers for the XX Century, a remarkable and emblematic work about 20th-century dance by Boris Charmatz, and various circus performances, including the show ‘Esquive’,” he noted, also mentioning “cinema by Manoel de Oliveira.”
Costa also observed that during the event, “Children’s Day” will take place, and while “it is already customary for Serralves em Festa to have a very diverse program that naturally includes children and families,” on June 1, “there will be circus, music, and reading-related events along with workshops in the arts and environment.”
“And before that, on Thursday, we will visit the center of Porto and Gaia, which seems relevant to us as an encounter with local communities and populations,” he stated.
Philippe Vergne, director of Serralves’ Museum of Contemporary Art, described Serralves em Festa as “an avant-garde festival open to everyone,” emphasizing its significant value “is that it truly makes high-level content accessible to the broader community without lowering the artistic standard.”
In circus arts, Cristina Grande highlighted the “coincidence between ‘Esquive,’ the main circus performance of this edition, and Clan Cabane, which pays tribute to the trampoline, a circus discipline.” In street theatre, she highlighted M. Culbuto, “a never-falling, 320-kilo piece of poetry,” which is “a toy that will occupy public space in Porto’s city center during the warm-up” and later in Serralves.
In contemporary dance, there are notable performances such as “EDNI” by João Martinho Moura and Né Barros, Cristina Planas Leitão and students of FAÍCC with the choreographic study “[hug],” and the groups Quarto and Poncili Creación from Puerto Rico, who focus on “cultural identity, consumerism, and environmental degradation,” presenting two parades (downtown and at Serralves).
In music, Pedro Rocha stated that alongside Spiritualized on Saturday night with about ten musicians on stage, Três Tristes Tigres return “after their memorable concert at the first edition of Serralves em Festa in 2004,” presenting their new album “Arca.”
“There will be about 50 performances, among concerts and DJ sets, throughout the festival’s 50 hours,” emphasizing “more exploratory and experimental projects across various musical styles and languages,” with names like Aunty Rayzor & DJ Tobzy, Use Knife, Waclaw Zempil & Saagara, or Fidju Kitxora, with a geographical scope including Europe and also “Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, Argentina, Ghana, Syria, among other regions,” with the nights animated by “the most danceable electronic music.”
In terms of the educational program, Inês Pina highlighted the circus show “Dolce Salato” for families, and “Músicas para dar a volta ao mundo” by Dona Arménia, a concert/show presented by Ana Madureira and Vahan Kerovpyan. There is also the show “Girafas” by the Catalans Xirriquiteula Teatre, which will wander through Serralves Park.
