LUGAR – The S. Domingos Mine and the MALACATE Project

On March 29th, at the Mina de S. Domingos Cinema Theatre, we will experience a moment of celebration: the launch of the book LUGAR. An object that is much more than a book – it is a living record of the MALACATE Project’s journey between 2021 and 2023, a tribute to Mina and its people. It also aims to be a document that helps us think about participatory art, echoing the voices of participants, artists and academics from different fields.

Leafing through these pages is like revisiting the encounter between art and that place, in an object that also includes some of the images that make up the extensive collection built up over time by photographer Sónia Godinho. It is like feeling the Mina de S. Domingos pulse through the eyes of those who live it, transform it and inspire it.

The debate that accompanied the session, moderated by Cláudia Andrade – actress, director and pedagogue in the area of participatory art – was attended by Miguel Maia, responsible for the concept and editorial coordination of the book, Filipe Abreu, co-artistic director of MALACATE in the early days of the project, Sofia Cabrita, actress and director, supported the creation of the community show Caixa de Perguntas, Rosinda Pimenta, Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Mértola, Rita Sales, actress, storyteller and cultural mediator linked to the Mértola area and MALACATE and Sónia Godinho, photographer whose gaze captured fundamental moments of this journey.

We also had the presence of visual artist Leonor Carpinteiro, responsible for the design and graphic composition of the book.

To all those who were present, who collaborated and who continue to believe in this path: this book is yours.

We hope that this work will be a contribution to the reflection on participatory arts in Portugal.