With a consolidated track record in supporting and promoting emerging artists, Mais Imaginarius continues to provide a platform to artists and collectives from all over the world, through a competition of artistic creations designed for the public space. The application period runs until 7 September and, in this edition, the Municipality of Santa Maria da Feira, as promoter of Imaginarius – International Street Theatre Festival, reinforced its grants to support the participation of artists. The selected projects will also be awarded an artistic residency and 5,000 euros.
The history of Mais Imaginarius already records hundreds of high quality projects from various artistic disciplines and crossings, revealing the will of artists to occupy the public space of Santa Maria da Feira. Imaginarius has always been a privileged showcase for street arts and contemporary circus, considered by many as an opportunity to develop privileged contacts with Portuguese and international programmers.
In this edition, Mais Imaginarius will select up to 20 projects that will compete during the Imaginarius festival, between 23 and 26 May 2024, favouring innovative approaches, the crossing of disciplines, the integration of technologies, and participation. These criteria are transversal to the various artistic disciplines in the competition: Theatre, Dance, Music, Circus, Performance, Intervention, Installation, New Media, Graffiti, Magic and Multidisciplinary.
Applications to Mais Imaginarius, which end on 7 September, will be selected by a commission designated by the organization of Imaginarius – International Street Theatre Festival, based on their artistic quality, creativity, innovation, interaction with the public and adequacy to the main theme of the 2024 edition, Freedom.
The organization of the festival supports the presentation and participation of artists and companies selected for Mais Imaginarius, namely by covering travel expenses – 600 euros for artists and companies from the Iberian Peninsula and Insular Portugal, 1000 euros for artists from the rest of Europe and 1400 for companies from outside Europe –, food and accommodation, among other logistical and communication support.
All accepted artistic projects are candidates for the final prize: the creation in residence of a show to debut in the 2025 edition of Imaginarius and 5,000 euros. During the festival, a jury, made up of elements of domestic and international reputation, will evaluate each of the artistic proposals in person.
Participation rules and application forms are available here. Any questions or clarifications should be directed to the Imaginarius team, via program@imaginarius.pt.
