The deadline for applications to the five Public Calls launched by the Municipality of Santa Maria da Feira for Imaginarius 2021 – International Street Theatre Festival was extended until 31 December, which allows the participation of a greater number of artists and artistic bodies. These Public Calls reinforce the municipality’s commitment to Culture, at a particularly difficult time for the sector, creating new opportunities for local, national and international cultural agents.
The 20 years of Imaginarius – International Street Theatre Festival, which also coincide with its 20th edition, will be marked by the festival’s green and digital transition, which, being strategic objectives already defined for Culture for the 2018-2021 cycle, have been made even more pertinent by the current reality.
Between 27 and 30 May, Imaginarius wiil be presenting itself to audiences in a mixed format, combining in its programming live shows in the public space of the historic centre of Santa Maria da Feira with a new, exclusively digital, section of the festival.
In addition to the Mais Imaginarius international competition and the Call for Support for Local Creation, this year the municipality has put forward three more calls – Digital Arts, Urban Art and Documentary Film – for the selection of local, national and international projects, which will be part of the Imaginarius’21 programme, together with the reprogramming of Imaginarius 2020.
The jury of the various calls is made up of personalities of national and international prestige, namely Cíntia Gil, Director of the Sheffield Documentary Festival (Sheffield Doc / Fest), Lara Seixo Rodrigues, CEO of Mistaker Maker – Artistic Intervention Platform or Julieta Aurora dos Santos , Director and Artistic Director of Companhia Teatro do Mar and MAR – Street Arts Exhibition.
The year 2021 will simultaneously mark the 20th anniversary and the 20th edition of Imaginarius, a historic achievement of a reference festival in Portugal and in Europe for Street Arts, which was built from different communities, living bodies and its participants. Therefore, it is important to preserve, through a documentary film, this whole path, constituting a collection of future memories of its region, artistic community and population. The Documentary Film Call challenges 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 during its 20th edition, between 27 and 30 May. The selected project will be allocated 10 000 euros.
The pandemic only accelerated the path already outlined for Imaginarius, with new challenges in the digital field. It is in this context that the Digital Arts Call arises, which intends to attract proposals for the presentation of creative works using the new information and communication technologies, audiovisual and multimedia. Two selected projects will be part of the festival programme, which will receive a support grant of 2,000 euros each.
In this 20th edition, the City Council will associate Imaginarius with the celebrations of the centenary of the Feira Fire Department, promoting an artistic intervention in the public space, specifically the painting of a mural on the sidewall of the schoolhouse of that institution. The Urban Art Call, a partnership between the City Council and the Feira Fire Department, will result in projects for a mural to perpetuate the corporation’s identity and memory, as well as its connection to the region, through culture, community and history. The winning project will be awarded a prize of 2,000 euros, and two other projects, in addition to a honourable mention, will receive a participation prize amounting to 200 euros.
The international competition Mais Imaginarius, adapted to the new reality, will adopt a new model in this edition, looking for projects that can be presented using digital media and platforms. In this call, aimed at Portuguese and international emerging artists, five projects will be selected to be presented in digital format, to which the City Council allocates a grant for 1 300 euros.
The Support Call to Local Creation challenges local associations and companies, as well as independent artists from or living in Santa Maria da Feira, to submit applications, individually or collectively, with a view to the development of new creations and their presentation in the public space, within the scope of the 20th edition of Imaginarius, thus keeping cultural activity alive and reinforcing support for the cultural ecosystem of Santa Maria da Feira. The two creations selected in this Call will be allocated a support grant for each project for 4,000 euros.
Applications for the five Public Calls – Documentary Film, Digital Arts, Urban Art, Mais Imaginarius and Support to Local Creation – will be open until 31 December. Regulations and forms are available here.