The art exhibition “Perspectives of April”, where artists from various Portuguese-speaking territories show, through art, the memory and feelings in relation to the Carnation Revolution, opens this Saturday, September 14, at 17 pm, at the Sagres Fortress.
Produced by Fungo Azul, curated by Nuno Murta, the exhibition features works by 30 artists from Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, Macau and East Timor, as well as some representatives from Portugal.
According to Carlos Norton, artistic director of Fungo Azul, this “is a way of looking at ourselves, but from the outside. Whenever we think about the 25th of April, we talk about Salgueiro Maia, about freedom, the MFA, carnations and the people in the streets. This is the perspective from this side. But reality is not always just one thing, and sometimes we forget that for others it may have been very different”.
In the year in which the 50th anniversary of April is being celebrated, the association felt it was important to “give a voice to those who were in other territories, in difficult periods of war, of tortuous paths to independence. Understanding how the revolution was experienced and remembered outside of Portugal is essential for us in Portugal to better understand what happened 50 years ago.”
The inauguration will also feature a film showing testimonies from the guest artists. “Perspectives of April” will be on display at the Sagres Fortress until December 31st, but for Fungo Azul, there will be even more to come in the near future.
«This year we have developed some commemorative projects in the region, such as the Sons de Abril concert series at the Lagos Municipal Library (the next concert will be on 20 September at 21pm), obviously driven by a great general movement around the date, both in terms of artistic interest, public participation and even investment by entities. But we are somewhat concerned that it will fade away», says Carlos Norton.
“Celebrating a round date in such an intense way could lead to some distance in the years to come, especially since it is 50 years old, which means that most people did not live through the dictatorship. At Fungo, no one was born before 74, so for us these are just stories and memories of others. If we let it fade, over time we will celebrate this date like December 1st or October 5th, in other words, something far away, just from the distant past. Therefore, we are already preparing some artistic creations for the coming years, in order to keep the flame burning, especially because unfortunately democracy has seen better days and it is important to remember what the dictatorship was like, what freedom is and how a revolution was made”, concludes Carlos Norton.
“Perspectives of April” is a production by Fungo Azul for the Fortress of Sagres / Museums and Monuments of Portugal. The inauguration is supported by Quinta do Barranco Longo.
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