Audiovisual, research on arts and heritage, design and new multimedia products are doing well and are recommended in the Algarve. This is the first observation that can emerge from the session on «Arts and Heritage: Media, Arts and Technology», which took place on Thursday afternoon at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Algarve, within the scope of the cycle «Inovar Algarve».
The objective of this session was to bring together researchers, companies, creators and official entities, to talk about what each one is doing, how to build bridges between these various worlds and, above all, how to transfer knowledge and technology, namely in terms of innovation , after all the general motto of the event «Inovar Algarve».
Nuno Bicho, archaeologist and professor at UAlg, began by showing how technology is used in his area of investigation, while João Pedro Bernardes, also a researcher and professor at UAlg, pointed out that «today it is necessary to link research to the community and bring heritage to life cultural service at the service of people', making 'heritage a factor for local development'.
As an example of the transfer of knowledge "to creators and to the local economic fabric", "incorporating the value of heritage in new products", João Bernardes recalled the TASA project. But he also spoke of the potential that «the recent discovery by UAlg of 2000-year-old hives in Sagres, proving that it is a food product with a millenary tradition in the Algarve», may have for honey producers. "Elements like these can be incorporated into the marketing of current products."
Of the companies present at this session, almost all were created by people who received their training at the University of the Algarve, which also turns out to be a kind of knowledge transfer.
Algarve market is small
One area that appears to be expanding in the region is audiovisual and multimedia. On the stage of this session, for example, Nuno Ribeiro, from the school etic_algarve (Portimão), Pedro Águas, of the We Make Productions, which produces works in the area of video, motiongraphic/3D, multimedia products and photography, or Nelson Martins, from KotoStudios, a content producer for television, advertising and cinema, which was born in the Algarve but is linked to a multinational, with clients such as Escolinha do Figo, Opel, Renault, Zon, or TMN.
Sonat Duyar did not study at the University of Algarve, nor did he even study anything that had to do with the passion that, at least since the age of 10, took him to the world of cinema. The short film «Comando», produced and directed by Sonat and two friends, with a few tens of euros, and which quickly became a success, is well known.
Thanks to the visibility of their work and the willingness to invest seriously in the area of cinema and audiovisual production, Sonat and friends created the company New Light Pictures, for which the «capital injection» made by an Algarve businessman who believed in the project was fundamental.
New Light Pictures is now dedicated to producing audiovisual content in a wide range of areas, but Sonat says that his "main passion remains cinema".
However, because «the Algarve is a very limited market, we are very committed to the idea that internationalization is very important».
Design, Benfica and traditional products
In terms of communication design, António Lacerda, who is a professor of the area at UAlg, presented the experience of his company Design Thinking, namely an innovative project of wine labels, produced in the Algarve, which are being internationalized to Thailand.
A SPIC Solutions, based in Almancil, presented by Tânia Martins, has invested in the area of new media, having developed, for example, Smartk, a multi-channel marketing platform, or 3D products that do not require the use of glasses, at the level of reality magnified, touch screen and motion detection.
In this field, Tânia Martins presented the touch screen developed by the company for the Algarve Tourism, with all the Algarve flora and fauna.
Finally, putting all this together, Tiago Toregão and Ricardo Nascimento presented the project the king cake, which results from the association between five companies – Triplesky, Algardata, Stills, Flavor and VinilConsta – that have been meeting in various projects. It is «an informal consortium», «something innovative in the way we designed it» .
Tiago Toregão, referring to the commitment that the Algarve should make in innovation, said that it is “necessary to create an ecosystem that combines talent, territory and technology, or else the Algarve will be left behind”.
Within the scope of innovative companies in the field of Arts and Heritage, the experiences of Argo and Tertúlia Algarvia were also presented.
A Argon works in the areas of conservation and restoration, architectural rehabilitation, technical training and collection management. And it was precisely in this area that Argo's most emblematic project emerged, the conservation and enhancement of Benfica's collection, namely cups and trophies, but not only that. And this is a market with a lot of potential. “Football clubs have many collections, but they don't have the sensitivity to explore them. That's where we came in», said Mariana Basto, responsible for the company.
As regards Algarve get-together, is about to open its space in Vila-a-Dentro de Faro, in front of the Municipal Museum. The objective was to create a space to promote the cultural identity of the Algarve and for this reason Tertúlia's headquarters will have, for example, a show cooking room for gastronomic and wine workshops, a shop with regional gourmet products and genuine handicrafts, among many other valences.
«There are many works by the University of Algarve that need to be known outside the university. Why not present them at the Tertúlia Algarvia space», challenged Lélia Madeira.
Of the projects of creators that have brought innovation to the Algarve, José Laginha spoke about the DeVIR Meetings, which continue in February now on the Algarve coast, after starting in September in Serra do Caldeirão, while Pedro Correia presented the work of the LAC Creative Activities Laboratory Lagos, especially in the area of creative residences.
Strategic Plan for Culture needs money
Closing a session that lasted almost three hours, with short presentations of just over 5 minutes, the regional director of Culture spoke about the Convention of Faro, signed in 2005 in this city by the Ministers of Culture from all over Europe, and which presents as a novelty precisely the fact that it “looks at heritage, at the arts as a whole, not putting them in boxes but rather articulating them. The territory is the base from which the heritage starts, but the point of arrival is this creative and plural Algarve that is here today».
Dália Paulo also recalled the work being done by that regional director, together with the University of Algarve, to define «the first strategic plan for Culture» in the region.
«The goal is to look to the future until 2020», he said, adding that, «now that the diagnosis has been made, now that we understand where we are and know where we want to go, we must make a Strategic Plan for Culture in the Algarve. But a Plan, to be truly one, has to have a financial package to implement it, there has to be a package associated with national funds and European Union funds. This implies guardianship. But, if there is no such financial package for the Culture of the Algarve, it will not be a real plan, rather a set of good intentions», assumed Dália Paulo.
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