The role of children in cities marks the season of LU.CA theater

The role of children in the cultural options of cities is the theme of an international conference, held on Thursday and Friday, at the theater, Luís de Camões, LU.CA in Lisbon, addressed to teachers, educators and all those who deal with children.

It is a “very dear” initiative to the theater, said the artistic director, Susana Menezes, adding that it is part of the cycle “Children, a theater, a city”, with which LU.CA begins the year, with which she inaugurated the activity, last June, in which she reinstated some of the shows performed for children and young people in the Maria Matos theater.

Curated by Susana Menezes and Liliana Coutinho, this conference aims to seek information “what is done abroad”, so that the presence of representatives of the Théâtre Am Stram Gram of Geneva and the BRONKS Theater for a Young Audience, Brussels.

This is a way for the LU.CA to reinforce “its place” and what space it will have in the city, said Susana Menezes, adding that the fact that there is new equipment in the city makes it shake and reorganize.

This initiative will also give voice to artists such as the illustrator Catarina Sobral and the actor and director Pedro Penim, and programmers who help to understand if the direction of the theater is on the right track, and that contribute to define the plans for the future.

Educators, teachers, cultural mediators, artists and all those involved in educational services, and the relationship between culture and art and the younger audience are the target audience for this conference on Thursday afternoon and Friday, all day long.

Susana Menezes insists that this is a “very dear” initiative because it is a moment when it reflects with the rest of the community about the culture that one does and wants to do for the children.

The reflection will also involve the younger generation, their understanding of the cultural options of the cities, for them, and listen to the suggestions they wish to give and which will also contribute to the actions to be taken in the future, added the LU artistic director. HERE.

This is, according to Susana Menezes, the first project with these characteristics that the direction of LU.CA promotes, and that will continue in the programming of the first three months of the year.

A children’s film festival entitled “Play”, dedicated to day-to-day living in cities, a cycle entitled “Why We Draw on the Walls”, which will question whether graffiti is urban art or vandalism, organized by illustrator António Jorge Gonçalves, a plastic arts installation with a history of graffiti and a theater that will travel through the history of this urban expression are other proposals of the programming of the LU.CA for the first quarter of this year.

This cycle will also include a workshop on drawings and a talk on “City and disobedience”, which will question the relationship between art and power and the place of disobedience of artistic life.

A mini-conference by Maria João Mayer Branco on dating, a performance by the Porto Marionette Theater and a special Carnival concert with Bruno Pernadas, as well as a Carnival dance with DJ Crazyman and VJ Severa are also proposed by the LU. CA until March.