Coliseu Porto Ageas launches its Educational Service, opening up to the arts and new audiences

For the first time in its 81-year history, the Coliseum launches an Educational Service to reinforce the connection of children, young people and all audiences to the arts.

Focused on culture and creativity, and with the quality seal of one of the most important theaters in the country, the first Summer Workshops start on July 17th. As of September, the annual program will begin, aimed at the general public, schools, cultural and social associations. There will be workshops, workshops and guided tours that will work on the art, history, geography and heritage of the Coliseum and the city of Porto.

“A House with so much history to tell must have an Educational Service. At this time of change in the Coliseum, this will be an identity project for the present and a projection for the future. This is the cement of the relationship that the Coliseu will have with the city”, explains Miguel Guedes, President of Associação Amigos do Coliseu do Porto.

The new Educational Service constitutes an integral part of a strategy of transformation, growth and mediation of audiences, expanding the field of intervention, the services provided and all people who relate to the Coliseum – from the youngest to the elderly active. The cross-cutting and multidisciplinary programs will unfold in various formats, promoting activities for everyone, with special emphasis on families.

The department will be coordinated by Filipa Godinho, professor and visual artist. She coordinated national and international projects in educational, social and cultural institutions, related to education through the arts. Directed and integrated several educational services with national relevance.

The Summer Workshops, the first activity of Educativo Coliseu, arise as a response to the need to value free time, with proposals for different age groups, and the objective will always be to offer a multitude of programs adapted to the reality of each group.

“A Magia das Sombras – Shadow Theater Workshop for curious children” takes place from July 17 to September 1 and is aimed at children and young people from 6 to 12 years old. For a week, from Monday to Friday, each group (between 8 and 12 children) will create their own shadow theater, from the story, characters, scenery and dramaturgy to light and sound. The inspirations will be varied, from traditional Chinese shadows (pinyin) to more contemporary expressions, such as the shadow theater by Lourdes Castro, among others.

From colored lights to surprising objects, many visual atmospheres will be created, magical effects invented and possibilities open to the creativity of the youngest. Each of the weeks ends with the moment that all creators and artists long for: the ‘going up’ stage, with a presentation of this original shadow theater, exclusively for the families of those registered, at the end of the afternoon on Friday. More shy or more extroverted, behind the curtain everyone finds their place.

“Atlas – Atelier de Teatro Labirinto de Ação Sensorial” is aimed at young people between 12 and 17 years old and runs from July 17th to August 4th. Developed and guided by actress Cátia Lopes, professor and graduate in theater, in this labyrinth-theatre workshop the group is invited to learn with affections, question values and give way to listening to the most complex ideas and feelings of the participants, in various languages that cross the verbal and extend to the body, action and space.

The Coliseum opens up here as a great labyrinth of experiences within which we will open paths through the senses, creating meanings and sharing experiences. At the end of the week, there is always a performance for family members and guests, in which the participants become inhabitants of this theater and the public become travelers who will accompany them throughout a traveling performance.

The two Summer Workshops are part of the pedagogical project that Coliseu Porto Ageas has established for the future: actions inserted in the theme of art, in its most varied forms and concepts, with special focus on the performing arts. These activities are based on pedagogical principles, using non-formal education methodologies and promoting playful, multidisciplinary, innovative and inclusive learning experiences.