Bem Vindos: Lisbon

Hello Everyone! Olá Gente!

For those of you that are new here, my name is Vivian Bauer and I am an art enthusiast, linguist, and amateur photographer. I am also a 2021 Watson Fellow with a project titled “Looking Beyond Museums the Lusophone World”. From August 2022 to August 2023, I will be traveling to different lusophone (Portuguese speaking) countries around the world and exploring different types of museums and creative spaces.

So far, my plan for Lisbon has developed way past my initial rough sketch. This is what I initially wrote about Portugal for my project proposal portion of the Watson application:

“I will begin my Watson year during August and September in Portugal to connect with their vibrant decolonizing museum scene. I am in contact with organizations, artists, and scholars in Portugal who are leading this growing field of studies, including António Pinto Ribeiro, who said that he would gladly talk to me about their work and support my project.  I hope to build foundational knowledge of the lusophone art diaspora by exploring organizations that I have been in touch with such as HANGER, an art center focused on the African diaspora in Lisbon, and BUALA, a platform across the lusophone world that builds cultural exchange through the arts. I will compare these innovative centers and spaces to the major national museums and famous galleries such as the Museu Coleção Berardo, MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, and the Museu Do Aljube, to see how they differ and what their efforts are in relation to their surrounding communities, in particular with respect to art linked to former Portuguese colonies or immigrant communities.”

The sites mentioned above are still a big part of my plan, but since I first wrote my application I’ve looked for a more diverse array of creative spaces. For example, I found a DIY anarchist punk library and event space called Disgraça that is full of local zines, art, and music. I have also found a pottery and tattoo studio called Casa Angelita with a gallery space. There is also the infamous Quinta do Mocho neighborhood which caught my eye for being one of the largest open-air street art sites in Europe located in a public housing suburb of Lisbon.

My plan in Lisbon has also relaxed a bit more so that I can truly experience all that Portugal has to offer in the short time that I am there. I am hoping to travel to Tomar in Central Portugal to attend, Bon Sons, a Portuguese music festival in mid-August. I CAN’T WAIT to explore the current music scene in Portugal and I will be updating this playlist with new music that I find.

Right now, my playlist has two albums from the most famous singers of Portugal, Amalia Rodrigues and Jose (Zeca) Afonso. So, I am sure that the Bon Sons festival will be the perfect introduction to the current music scene.

For my second month in Lisbon, I am hoping to draw more connections and create more questions about artistic spaces that I want to carry with me throughout my year. By then, my Portuguese should be better and I will hopefully be able to connect with more artists, community leaders, activists, and curators to learn more about their hopes and dreams for Portugal’s diverse future within the art world.

Another important goal for these first two months will be to have a better grasp on Portugal’s political state and the issues that are facing Portuguese people so that I can learn more about themes that artists are exploring as well as cross-examine these issues across the globe. At the moment my initial questions are; What kinds of spaces do Portuguese artists gravitate to and why? How does the populace feel about the continuous glorification of Portugal’s colonial legacy? What is being created if anything to counteract that? How are the diasporas and immigrant communties in Lisbon represented in public space?

I feel like I am leaving my home country during a politically tumultuous time and I would love to try my best to stay engaged and active by educating myself on political issues across the globe and seeing how they relate to art and the global struggle for equity worldwide. I aim for my project and research to be relevant across the globe and help people enjoy the beauty and knowledge that art and creative spaces offer.

Até logo!

If you are a close friend or family member you can follow my private travel Instagram @viv.viajando