From the local collective memory, the artistic entity Fértil Cultural developed a show that explores the experiences and memories of the community, using video, theatre and music, in a work that involved the parishes of Gondifelos, Cavalões, Outiz and Louro. "Diálogo 1# - Montes de Milho" (Dialogue 1# - Lots of Corn), is the first show of this "Diálogo", which is part of the project There is Culture | Culture for All, an initiative of the City Council of Vila Nova de Famalicão. The premiere is scheduled for the Parish Council of Cavalões and Parish Council of Louro, on the 17th and 18th of July, respectively, at 6pm.
The show had, as the basis of its artistic composition, real accounts of memories and experiences of 15 members of the parishes covered with regard to the tradition of maize cultivation and surrounding social activities. "Our idea was to take advantage, as we do in our theatre shows, (...) the synergies of the community, transform them in an artistic object and give them back in another form" says Rui Leitão, Fértil's artistic co-director. The collection of testimonies, initially thought in a face-to-face format and in permanent contact, in a "sharing of ideas, experiences and relationships, between art professionals and the surrounding community", as Neusa Fangueiro, Fértil's artistic co-director, refers, ended up transforming itself in an individualized video graphic collection. "With the pandemic, (...) we thought about bringing the community to the stage anyway, but in video, safeguarding any kind of possible contamination during the process", emphasizes Rui Leitão.
The video graphic collection of landscapes, stories and local recreations, associated to the theme of corn, served to reinforce the performative work developed by Fértil Cultural, and was in charge of the show's co-creator Rúben Marques, who describes his function as being to "create a sensation of isolation of speech, a narrative that can be isolated and create a cinematic sensation". Throughout the show, the images registered will be transmitted, with emphasis on the reports obtained from the project's target audience - unemployed or inactive population -, coordinated with a musical performance, and led by Rui Leitão, in consonance with a theatrical interpretation by Neusa Fangueiro.
Fértil - Cultural Association is an artistic entity that arises from the meeting between theatre and anthropology, having been founded in 2010 with the purpose of giving voice to the creations and investigations that start from this principle. Fértil's creations are essentially based on theatre and its relation with other artistic forms, privileging original creations. During the last years, they have produced more than a dozen shows, for both adult and children audiences, having made more than 300 presentations in several regions of the country, including Spain. Parallel to the creation, Fértil has assumed the role of programmer of the Casa da Pedreira in Gondifelos, a cultural space in the rural environment that aims a diversified offer and through which several theatre, music, exhibitions and artistic workshops have already passed.
"Diálogo" is an action inserted in the project THERE IS CULTURE | CULTURE FOR ALL, promoted by the City Council of Famalicão and co-financed by NORTE 2020, through the European Social Fund (ESF). The show "Diálogo 1# - Montes de Milho" is limited to the number of seats available in each exhibition space, and the collection of tickets is made on the day of the event, at the entrance of the venue where the performance will take place.