BRUXAS - ensaio para a esperança

The audience gathers for what initially appears to be a historical guided walk. “Here the witches were burned,” says the guide. But soon the narrative begins to fracture. A nearly inaudible voice interrupts: “They were not witches.” Small gestures, conflicting versions and unexpected presences slowly destabilize the official account.

BRUXAS - ensaio para a esperança invites the audience to a walk through Cascais, where feminism, witch hunt and personal memories intersect and blur. During the walk, unexpected voices and fragmented narratives unsettle recorded histories, giving way to a reflection on memory, historical erasure and hope as a fragile yet transformative gesture.

Developed with women living in or connected to Cascais, BRUXAS - ensaio para a esperança is a community-based and participatory project grounded in feminist artistic practices, listening and collective reflection.

A mediator with ties to the local community and the project’s artistic team accompanied the process. The meetings took place in Cascais, on a schedule decided in accordance with each woman’s availability and pace. Participation was on a volunteer basis and in several ways: sharing memories, contributing with inspiration, or being present in the performance, with no expectation of biographical exposure. The public performance emerges as an extension of this process rather than its final goal, allowing different levels of visibility and participation from the women involved, including silence or absence. In this project, ethic is an integral part of the artistic creation, and listening, fragility and ongoing negotiation are regarded as core parts of the artistic gesture.

‍Teresa V. Vaz

Teresa V. Vaz is a Portuguese artist and creator working across performance, dramaturgy and participatory artistic practices. Her work often explores collective memory, feminism and the relationship between biography, territory and fiction through collaborative and site-sensitive processes.

Bestiário is born from fragments, which is why it takes the name of a collection. Each fragment carries a story, and it is through the juxtaposition of these different narratives that we create an identity. We seek to explore our cultural heritage by reviving both biographical and popular stories. We position ourselves in the present, at times choosing to live it, at others to reflect upon it. We aim to foster authorship, drawing inspiration from both the natural and social sciences. We believe in works of art that spread and resonate.

Bestiário was founded in 2018 by Afonso Viriato, Helena Caldeira, Miguel Ponte, and Teresa Vaz.

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Bestiário website

Technical and Artistic Credits

‍Concept, Artistic Direction, and Dramaturgy | Teresa V. Vaz; Scenographic Device | Miguel Ponte and Teresa V. Vaz; Creation and Performance | Miguel Ponte and Rita Morais

Sound Installation | Filipe Baptista

Production Management | Manuela Morais

Mediation | Selma Tomásia Fernandes

Women's Group | Ana Filipa Beato, Beatriz Sousa, Catarina Oliveira, Lune Rodas, Maria José, Milena Levit, Selma Tomásia Fernandes, Vanessa Baptista, Xana Viegas

Photograph | Bruno Simão

Support | Acústica Suave, Cascais Parish Council, Polo Cultural das Gaivotas