The 24th Edition

May 2025

22, Thursday

late afternoon and evening

23, friday

afternoon and evening

24, saturday

afternoon and evening

25, sunday

morning

The 24th edition of Imaginarius – International Street Theater Festival marks the end of a cycle of three editions marked by a conceptual line of thought, which reaffirms the artistic discourse of a festival with DNA, which involves, questions, confronts and transforms.

The end of the trilogy

After an edition dedicated to the Dream (2023) and another to Freedom (2024), the time has come for Imaginarius to reflect on the legacy of Progress, both in the intensity and intentionality of the messages, implicit or explicit, associated with the program content, based on the premise that true Progress can only be achieved through Peace, anchored in the values of Freedom, being this a collective Dream.

2023 – Dream

2024 – Freedom

2025 – Progress

Progress

The program for the 24th edition of the festival is born from the multiple dimensions of Progress, particularly societal, technological, environmental and cultural Progress, and its antithesis. A theme that crosses borders, eras and cultures, that provokes dialogues and confrontations, that celebrates achievements, advances and setbacks, that calls for reflection through art.

Has technological development made us progress or regress as a society and as people? Are we actually closer or more isolated? What environmental liabilities has industrial development brought us?

Should we move forward or take a step back?

What place do the values of freedom, justice, equality and diversity occupy in the midst of so many questions? Have we really evolved as humanity? What can we expect from the future?

Footprint and identity

The visual concept proposed for the 24th edition of Imaginarius results from the intersection of the theme Progress with the spirit and identity of the festival.

The simple act of walking symbolizes humanity’s struggle for progress and evokes the itinerant nature of street theater festivals.

The lines coming from the human figure give rise to a kaleidoscopic trail of color and movement, reflecting the magic and fantasy characteristic of Imaginarius. This is also the trail that the festival leaves in the community.

The color palette used evokes the moonlight and nocturnal atmosphere of the festival. The black background can occasionally give way to yellow or gray.

Visually striking, the image adapts easily to different media – printed or digital, static or dynamic.

Contemplation, criticism, hope

In 2025, Imaginarius festival returns as it was, sharp, ready to disturb, stimulate critical thinking and stir consciences, attentive to the emergency of building bridges and rethinking the greatest dimension of Progress – Humanity.

Over the course of four days, the streets, squares and cultural facilities of Santa Maria da Feira’s city center become laboratories for experimentation and improvisation, where each show or original creation carries the force of its message and visual poetics, in an invitation to reflection, contemplation and hope.

On the most democratic of all stages – the street – the festival’s audience is once again invited to be part of a cultural mosaic that brings together 170 artists from 43 companies, from 17 countries to take over 15 programmed spaces.

Multidisciplinary and multidimensional, the program focuses on the intersection of street arts and contemporary circus with other artistic disciplines, such as media arts, dance and music, paying special attention to the Gastronomy theme.

THE NUMBERS OF 2025

› 4 days of programming
› 43 companies
› 170 artists
› 17 countries*
› 120 hours of content
› 43 shows/installations
› 135 presentations
› 11 absolute premieres
› 25 national premieres
› 9 Imaginarius creations
› 2 public art installations
› 15 stages*
› 500.000 euros of investment

*Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America.

*Cineteatro António Lamoso, Largo do Tribunal, Biblioteca Municipal (auditorium and exhibition room), Arquivo Municipal (square), Praça Gaspar Moreira, Mercado Municipal, Rua dos Descobrimentos, Piscinas Municipais (exterior staircase), Jardins do Orfeão, Casa do Moinho, Rossio, Igreja Matriz (landing), Museu Convento dos Lóios (exterior and cloister), Rua Dr. Roberto Alves/Feitoria (exterior staircase). Roberto Alves/Feitoria (nook), Imaginarius Centro de Criação (black box and central nave), Igreja da Misericórdia (staircase).

Increased support for creation

More original projects

With a renewed commitment on supporting creation, the festival presents 9 Imaginarius creations (there were 3 in 2024), opening doors and projecting local, national and international artists; involving different local communities; occupying ICC – Imaginarius Creation Center as a privileged space for artistic residencies.

So far, 14 residency periods have been held at the ICC (6 in 2024 and 8 in 2025), each lasting an average of two weeks, to develop projects to be presented for the first time at this edition of the festival.

The example of Rui Paixão, who returns to Imaginarius this year as creator and director, is paradigmatic. He was one of the first artists from Feira to create in residence at now ICC (abandoned Slgoughter House back then) for Imaginarius, in 2015. This year he was recognised as a revelation and began to circulate through similar international festivals, attracting the attention of the worldwide company Cirque du Soleil, with whom he has already spent two seasons: one in China and the other in United States.