Spring Seminar and Porto Summer School on Art & Cinema 2025

Spring seminar 2025 Politics of Curatorship: May 7–9. Keynote speakers and artist talks: Mark Peranson (former curator of the Berlin and Locarno Film Festivals). More TBC. 

Curatorial processes, prevalent across diverse artistic domains, have emerged as the focal point of contemporary artistic research practices. Although this movement is not novel, its significance has become evident as the curator’s role has become pivotal in shaping the connection between artistic works and the community. Consequently, the term “curator” has transcended the visual arts, finding its way into other fields such as cinema and critical thinking. This Spring Seminar aims to delve into these curatorial practices, drawing insights from case studies, historical references, and contemporary experiences, particularly in fields where curatorial practices have assumed central importance.

In addition to these definitions and the concept’s openness in various artistic practices, it is also crucial to consider curatorial practice in a world undergoing significant change, particularly in areas such as: the climate crisis; the rise of nationalist and far-right agendas; decolonial thinking and debates on historical reparation, which compel us to redefine our understanding of the world; and finally, the emergence of artificial intelligence technologies and the revolution in cultural consumption practices due to our new digital lives. 

How can curatorial practice be transformed in these new contexts? How is it perceived as a community practice? What does it mean to reflect on the curatorial process in today’s world? What practices are currently shaping curatorial thinking? How can curating maintain a critical perspective? In recent years, various events in the art world have brought the more immediate political dimension back into museum and cinema spaces. This reflection is also a crucial aspect of this Spring Seminar.

Call for papers: February 21, 2025. Detailed info here.

A joint initiative: School of Arts, Universidade Católica Portuguesa; CITAR – Research Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts; PUC—Rio; CAPES Print; Grupo de Arte, Autonomia e Política. With the support of FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology.

Porto Summer School on Art & Cinema 2025—Technology/Transformation: June 30–July 4. Information about guests (artists, directors, curators and academics) will be announced during the month of February 2025. Curators: Daniel Ribas, Inês Grosso, João Laia, José Alberto Gomes, Nuno Crespo

Culminating a year of the Technology/Transformation exhibition (on display at the Porto Campus, co-organized by the Serralves Foundation and the Universidade Católica Portuguesa), the 2025 Summer School will focus on contemporary practices that challenge the limits of the language of cinema and contemporary art. Considering the historical moment presented in the exhibition, the aim is to provide space to discuss the diruptive gestures that contemporary art has promoted since the 1970s, when the tools of video and Super 8 became abundant. Acknowledging the experimental practice of these works, we will try to give an account of a current perspective, recognizing, both in experimental cinema and in contemporary art that uses moving images, vibrations of that inaugural moment.

The Porto Summer School on Art & Cinema is an advanced course in new film practices, combining critical thinking with contact with great creators of cinema and contemporary art. The diversity of procedural approaches, as well as the decisive themes of today’s world, will be presented by directors/artists of international relevance, in dialog with thinkers, critics and academics who will discuss the work developed during the week. The Summer School is structured over five days, with each day dedicated to one of the directors/artists who, at different times and with different structures, will be in direct contact with the participants, in a creative and innovative environment.

Participant applications: May 16, 2025. Detailed info here.

Call for proposals: Following the main guidelines for this year’s Summer School, we are accepting communication proposals or proposals for the presentation of artistic projects (which will take place during the mornings). Deadline: May 2. Detailed info here

An initiative: School of Arts, Universidade Católica Portuguesa; CITAR—Research Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts.
With the support the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

School of Arts at Universidade Católica Portuguesa
The School of Arts (SoA) offers an intense cultural program, with artists in residence (former residents include Rosângela Rennó, Matías Piñeiro, Letícia Ramos, Ben Russell, Nuno da Luz, Ana Vaz, Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, Salomé Lamas and Yohei Yamakado, among others), a cycle of conferences with special guests (artists, filmmakers, scholars), and a periodic calendar of exhibitions at the School’s exhibition space (since 2018, the School presented exhibitions by João Maria Gusmão, Letícia Ramos, Ângela Ferreira, Francisco Tropa, João Paulo Serafim, Salomé Lamas, Mariana Caló & Francisco Queimadela, Nuno da Luz, Julião Sarmento, Jonathan Saldanha and Guido Guidi, among others). 

The SoA is currently accepting international applications for its Master and PhD programs. Applications for Bachelor programs will begin in June. See all programs here.

Events
Spring Seminar—Politics of Curatorship call for papers: February 21 / Spring Seminar: May 7–9 / Porto Summer School on Art & Cinema—Technology/Transformation call for proposals: May 2 / Technology/Transformation summer program: June 30–July 4.