In a continuous and strategic investment in Culture and support for artistic creation – be it local, national or international -, the Municipality of Santa Maria da Feira is launching, starting today, 6 November, and extending until 6 December, five Public Calls to Imaginarius – International Street Theatre Festival, which in 2021 will celebrate both 20 years and its 20th edition.
The 20th edition of Imaginarius – International Street Theatre Festival will take place between 27 and 30 May, with “The Myth and the Brand” as its theme, and it will be inevitably marked by the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, but above all by the green and digital transition. In the edition in which it also turns 20, Imaginarius is adapting to the new reality and presents itself in a mixed format, combining in its programming face-to-face shows, in the public space of the historic centre of Santa Maria da Feira, with a digital offer.
Mais Imaginarius Call, Digital Arts Call, Urban Arts Call, Documentary Film Call and the Call to Support Local Creation are the five public calls for the selection of projects, be they local, national or international, that will integrate the programme of Imaginarius. Rules and participation forms are available here.
International competition Mais Imaginarius, adapted to the new reality, will adopt in this edition a new model, looking for projects that can be presented resorting to digital media and platforms. In this call, aimed at emerging artists from Portugal and abroad, five projects will be selected to be presented in digital format, to which the Municipality allocates a grant for 1,300 euros.
The Call to Support Local Creation again challenges local associations and companies, as well as independent artists, founded or based in Santa Maria da Feira, to submit applications, individually or collectively, with a view developing new creations presenting them in the public space, within the scope of the 20th edition of Imaginarius, thus keeping cultural activity alive and strengthening support for the cultural ecosystem of Santa Maria da Feira. The two creations selected in this Call will each be allocated a support grant for 4,000 euros.
Imaginarius’ 20th anniversary will be the motto for extending new goals and challenges to artists and creators, through the Digital Arts Call, which aims to promote the presentation of creative works using new information and communication technologies, audio-visual and multimedia. Two selected projects will be part of the festival programme, each receiving a support grant for 2,000 euros.
In this 20th edition the Municipality will associate Imaginarius with the centenary celebrations of the Feira Fire Department by promoting an artistic intervention in the public space, specifically the painting of a mural on the side wall of its School House. The Urban Art Call, a partnership between the Municipality and the Fire Department, will result in projects for a Mural that will perpetuate the identity and memory of the corporation, as well as its connection to the region through culture, community and its history. The winning project will receive a support for 2,000 euros, and two other projects will receive an honourable mention and a participation prize of 200 euros.
2021 will mark both the 20th anniversary and the 20th edition of Imaginarius, an historic occasion for a festival that has become a reference, in Portugal and in Europe, for Street Arts, and which was built from diverse communities, bodies, and its participants. Therefore, it is important to preserve, through a documentary film, the festival’s entire path, collecting future memories of its region, artistic community and population. It is for this purpose that the Documentary Film Call will challenge Portuguese and international audio-visual artists and documentary filmmakers to present original proposals for the making of a documentary film about Imaginarius, scheduled to premiere at the 20th edition, between 27 and 30 May. The selected project will be receive 10 000 euros.
