Open Studio: Francisco Thiago Cavalcanti at Espaço Alkantara

Motherland, or mother-earth, brings visibility to motherhood as the oldest and most natural form of labour in the world. The invitation to immerse oneself in this space of creation is also a claim to the possibility of continuing to exist as a performing arts professional while being the mother of two young children. It is a space sustained by the contradiction between not wanting to do anything or prove anything, not wishing to entertain, but simply to be with, to be together—while inevitably entertaining and recreating. Motherland is also a chaotic place, but one where life unfolds at its own pace, questioning and reshaping expectations around working time and productivity. Imagination seeks to open up new ways of sharing the stage space—a space that is also one of rest, nourishment, study, and care—inviting the involvement of all in the questions that move us.

Motherland is an artistic creation developed within the research project The Islands: Investigations, Visibility, and Transformations – Motherhood and Fatherhood in the Arts Today, led by Francisca Mantas Pinto and Patrícia Soares.

On Saturday 21 June, from 5pm, Francisca Pinto opens the doors of Espaço Alkantara and invites adults and children to gather in the studio for a performative and reflective action.

Credits

Research Francisca Pinto and Patrícia Soares Creation Francisca Pinto Production Patrícia Soares Support Direção Geral das Artes – Ministério da Cultura, Fundação GDA Research Support Alkantara e Polo Cultural das Gaivotas – CML Creation Support Alkantara e Programa de Residências d’O Rumo do Fumo