On July 7 and 8, at 9:30 p.m., “Can anyone hear me? – Repair Workshop” premiered, an object that is the result of the artistic residency that took place between June 25 and July 6, at the mala voadora theater, in Porto, and that succeeded the IV Visual Culture Meeting: Repairs, which served as theoretical food.

Both activities had the support and partnership of the MigraMediaActs project, with some team members involved in the organization, communications and artivisms gathering.

Participants of the artistic residency. Photo: Gessica Borges

“The objective was to broaden and deepen the debate on historical reparations in Portugal, dialoguing with other geographies and in its multiple aspects. The aim of the gathering was to promote the development of a new approach to historical reparations, namely apologies for the atrocities of colonialism and the practice of slavery on a large scale, the implementation of affirmative policies (for example, through ethnic-racial quotas in access to university and decision-making positions in institutions), the revision of historical narratives and, consequently, educational curriculum (e.g. through the inclusion of narratives, historical subjects and artists still excluded from the official narrative), the forgiveness of odious debts and the payment of reparations, the return of looted objects, the decolonization of public space (e.g. by memorializing victims of slavery and dismantling racist statues) and the recovery of biomes and landscapes by supporting communities torn apart by extractivism and monocultures.”

The creation of the object — a combination of artistic performance and political manifesto — was collective, curated by Ana Cristina Pereira/Kitty Furtado (cultural critic, researcher, Portuguese afrodescendent activist) and Inês Beleza Barreiros (art historian, scriptwriter and Portuguese activist).

It counted with the contributions of Aline Frazão (Angolan musician, composer and writer), Apolo de Carvalho (student at the great university of the word, taught in the shadow of the baóbas), Gessica Correia Borges (Brazilian communicator, poet and researcher), Marta Lança (Portuguese researcher and editor), Pirá/Ellen Lima Wassu (Wassu poet and researcher), Sara Henriques (Afro-descendant Portuguese creator, actress and puppeteer), Tomé Silva (Portuguese music producer and sound artist) and Vanessa Fernandes (Guinean artist and filmmaker), the light design was by Rui Pedro Rodrigues (plastic artist and light designer) and the light operation by Luís Ternus (light technician).

Also as a result of the meeting, the Porto Declaration – Repairing the Irreparable was created and disseminated (in portuguese).