Summary:

The project “Women, Arts and dictatorship – Portugal, Brazil and Portuguese speaking African Countries” will be developed by the research group “Gender, Arts and Post-Colonial Studies” GAPS (CEHUM/ UMinho). This project aims to produce an analysis of the work by women artists from Portuguese speaking countries (Portugal, Brazil and Lusophone Africa) in the second half of the twentieth century, who in different ways deal with aspects of the dictatorship. The main goal is to make visible the presence of women as creators of aesthetic canons, literary and artistic. Through the analysis of a variety of case studies we want to contribute to a revision of the histories of art and literature. The project draws on a transversal and comparative methodology which has as its main focus a diversity of narratives from the fields of the visual arts, literature, film, theatre and performance. We will analyze the work produced by women artists of different generations and different geographical contexts whose artistic practice reflects on or resists to the authoritarian regimes/dictatorships and their direct or camouflaged domination.

 

Description:

Taking into account the invisibility of women as artistic creators and their representation in the history of art and literature, we intend to contribute to a revision/reconfiguration of the artistic and literary canons of the 20th c., having Portugal as axis and conducting contrastive or complementary case studies with the former African colonies and Brazil.

As for the Impact and Dissemination of this project the tasks that will be carried out and the number of partners involved will help us implement them. Namely, 1- the website providing biographic and work information on each artist studied by the research team; the digital platforms of dissemination will allow for the project to connect with other initiatives, institutions, events and a wider public; 2- the permanent seminars organized regularly throughout the project in partnership with Museum Nogueira da Silva (University Gallery) and in articulation with the Doctoral Program in Comparative Modernities and the Degree in Theatre Studies; 3- the Film Cycle in partnership with Theatro Circo (Braga) and CCVF (Guimarães) whose main objective is to present films that integrate our corpus and also to reach different publics, while promoting a dialogue with society on key issues that fall within the scope of the project; 4- the two Workshops in partnership with CIAJG/ Centro de Arte José de Guimarães and Mosteiro de Tibães (Braga) and in collaboration with women artists, involving students and general public. 

 

The dissemination of knowledge resulting from this task aims at reaching city halls, tourist offices, museums, promotors of urban public events, as well as the University public; 5- the Short-course aims at creating synergies among different institutions that collaborate in the project. It aims at stimulating the dissemination of critical knowledge within the context of feminist, gender and postcolonial studies in articulation with artistic practices. The partners involved are two museums, their educational services and a wide educational community; 6- the International Conference and the Book to be published will disseminate the final results of the project and both will prove essential towards the societal impact of the project on a diversity of publics.