Inspired by the triangular shape of the Mezzanine space of Galeria Municipal do Porto as a potencial metarphor for the Bermuda Triangle, Luís Lázaro Matos will transport us to a whirlwind of images kaleidoscopically suspended in space. Progressively interested in contemporary processes of constant monetisation and surveillance in cyber space, the artist has been concerned lately with intersections between the lightness of modern glass architecture and the transparency of social media. Is this triangular area at Galeria Municipal do Porto not only an axhibition space, but also a place of disappearance? Waves And Whirlpools is curated by Martha Kirszenbaum, curator of the France pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale, 2019.

We see the Douro through the eyes of pioneering photographers: the magnificence of the terraces descending in gentle waves to the river, the bridges and tunnels by Emílio Biel, the work of the vineyard and the grape harvest of his apprentice, Domingos Alvão, the mimosas or the almond trees in bloom of the Estado Novo tourism. When the colour arrived, the overlapping hues of solstices’ gold and the old reds. This was and is the mythical Douro, with rabelos boats sailed by sailors, descending in a queue to the pier, the barrels towards the warehouses of Gaia. This Douro remains on postcards and advertising pamphlets. Carlos Cardoso, year after year, rebuilt today's Douro, maintaining the reality of its permanencies and changes, in black and white, between the memory of the images and their meaning, which only the contrast of shadow and light can make it clearer. Almost immutable in the time of the Ages, the ancient rocks, the granite of the Iberian massif, the shale of its torrid crushing. The shale blades challenged men and forged the destiny of the vineyard, they are the matrix of the territory. The photographer shows us his power, on the paths, in the blockades, on the ground of almond trees and vineyards, but also the raw material for his direct use and, here and there, the failure of the rock in the face of vegetation or the sign of permanence depending on the divine. On this matrix basis, the men produced the terraces according to their needs, then the levels according to the machines. The civilization of communication appropriates the Douro from the railway and explodes with the road. The landscape is made with iron beams, concrete and reinforced concrete spirals, in an old and new figure. To clarify this, there are no baskets for transporting grapes and protecting glass: the road culture is also that of plastic and ephemeral. So, because it is a photographic look, a new collection of images turns abandonment, neglect and discouragement into beautiful images of remains, of impure signs of pure longing. A visible unity is defined between the gaps in the shale blades, in their illusory solidity and the constructions that speak of the technical levels of man's culture. Both crumble, cover themselves with weeds, tear under the vital impulse of the trees: both speak of a past and a changing present. The shale layers dismantle like the railway tracks, defining new layers of ground. The abandoned stations, created to assert their Portuguese nature, are invaded by a thicket and desolation. Sometimes the two worlds of the old recent and the new intersect, in the geometry of the equipment, but always, always the greatest geometry are the mountains that reduce the scar the road that tears them. This built, marked and suffered Douro is doomed to be a dazzle. The matrix undulating of the mountains is deepened with concentric lines and the very white verticals of the levels; the precipices, the starry shales of gleams, the royal road of the river became systematic appropriations of man. But a viewpoint high above, a repainted bench to rest, the quintas (estates) multiplying the quality of the wine are other responses to what Nature offers or denies: Nature is indifferent to man, indifferent to itself, as a concept. The tension between the critical spirit and the longing or the search for beauty are things of man. This is what these images are about.

From 6 December 2019 to 27 December 2020, the Natural History and Science Museum of the University of Porto (MHNC-UP) hosts, in its core pole (Historical Building of the Rectory of the University of Porto, near Cordoaria Garden), the exhibition Cultures and Geographies. Marking its centennial commemorations, the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto (FLUP) co-organizes with the MHNC-UP, and in collaboration with the Soares dos Reis National Museum, an exhibition that presents the collections that were part of the its museology and artistic holdings during the first phase of its existence (1919-1931). Originally used as teaching resources in three museum-rooms of the first FLUP, these collections, which, in 1941, moved to the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, are now in the care of MHNC-UP. Through a set of 250 extraordinary pieces of archaeology and ethnography, visitors will be invited to travel over time and explore ways of life, experiences and rituals of human communities on each of the five continents.

The exhibition "Revolução de 24 de Agosto de 1820: Prelúdio do Liberalismo em Portugal" will open at Museu Militar do Porto, curated by Fernando Gonçalves. Open to the public for ten months (until 1 August 2021), the exhibition depicts the bravery of a group of notable citizens of Porto, who took the first step towards the end of the British influence and the resulting liberal monarchy 200 years ago. The North demanded the return of the King, a Constitution, justice, and prosperity. The seeds of progress and modernity were sown in Portugal and there are documents and historical items that prove it.

More than 200 forged paintings, seized in the last 15 years by Diretoria do Norte da Polícia Judiciária (detective force), are on display at Alfândega do Porto. "A Arte do Falso" gathers not only counterfeit works of names like Picasso, Júlio Pomar, Cesariny, Malangatana, Amadeo Souza Cardoso, but also unusual objects that reveal the genius of criminals. Between counterfeit banknotes, umbrellas that turn into weapons, paintings exhibited at art gallery auctions that had been screened by specialists, the exhibition holds many surprises, including a machine that would have the gift of healing people all over the world by simply turning on some lights. The forged works on display to the public were located by the detectives of the police force, mainly in the urban areas of Lisbon and Porto, in art galleries, auctions, fairs, exhibitions and antique shops. In the exhibition there is also a space dedicated to the little ones, where they can take fingerprints and compare them on different surfaces.

R. H. Quaytman employs mechanical reproduction techniques and conceptual art traditions to create closed series of works divided into chapters. Subsequent parts are numbered to mark the passage of time and gradually completing life and artistic project. The artist treats all exhibitions and paintings presented as one creative undertaking. R. H. Quaytman approaches painting as if it were poetry: when reading a poem, one notices specific words, we realise that each word has a resonance. Quaytman's paintings, organised into chapters structured like a book, have grammar, syntax and vocabulary. While the work is delimited by a rigid structure on a material level - they appear only in bevelled plywood panels in eight predetermined sizes derived from the golden ratio - the open-ended content creates permutations that result in an endless archive. Quaytman's practice engages three distinct stylistic modes: silkscreen based on photographs, optical patterns such as moiré and scintillating grids, and small hand-painted oil works. Quaytman's work, presented for the first time in Portugal, points to the new possibilities of today's painting. What is a painting, an icon? What are the means of painting in a culture saturated by visual stimulation, from photography to the digital forest of signs? Is painting still a relevant medium to share our story? The exhibition is co-organised by Muzeum Sztuki in Lódz, Poland, and by Fundação de Serralves – Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Porto. Curated by Jaroslaw Suchan

Specifically conceived for the Contemporary Gallery, Hugo Canoilas' first exhibition (Lisbon, 1977) at the Serralves Museum is both a confirmation and expansion some core concerns in his practice: a speculative approach to the relationship between art and reality (social and political events), a questioning of the characteristics and boundaries of painting, and the emphasis given to collaborative work. With a background in painting, Canoilas has been examining the place of this artistic medium, how it is perceived both by museum visitors and passers-by (the artist is known for public space interventions which are never advertised as works of art). In the case of this exhibition at Serralves, Canoilas dispensed with the place where paintings are most expected to be found - the gallery walls - and decides to intervene on the floor, skirting board and ceiling of the Contemporary Gallery - spaces neglected by most painting exhibitions. On the floor there are three coloured glass pieces that represent jellyfish. Made in Marinha Grande, these jellyfish - possible symbols of climate warming, but also of such ideas as formlessness and metamorphosis on which several works by Hugo Canoilas are based – are meant to be stepped on by visitors. The main role given to the floor is confirmed by the skirting board-painting (a light box, featuring a painting on linen stretched like a canvas, delimiting the space of the exhibition), in which the artist draws attention to an architectural element that is as common as it is unnoticed. On the gallery ceiling, Hugo Canoilas will create a gestural painting that, like his most recent abstract paintings, is based on images of the seabed’s flora and fauna. It should be noted that the painting also functions as a lightbox that creates an aura in the room, affecting the perception of the jellyfish. Jellyfish are fascinating animals that, throughout their unusual life cycles undergo various metamorphoses and reproduce cells in unusual ways. His observation, which witnesses dramatic variations in configuration, defies all notions of stability and all ideas on the relationship between the parts and the whole. Just like this exhibition by Hugo Canoilas, comprised of three distinct elements - floor, skirting board and ceiling - that influence one another (in cooperation, symbiosis, competition, predation and parasitism) and which is an embodiment of an artistic practice that does not crystallize in a form, but which constantly question themselves about its own limits, functions and assumptions.

The Mercado da Ribeira consists of 10 stores, and was created after the renovation of the old market. Food products in its traditional form, tourist products and restaurants. Location: Cais da Ribeira (near the north pillar of Luiz I Bridge).

"Joaquim Vieira's Porto is by no means the same Porto to what we all presume to know or recognise - it is a more lively and surprising Porto, the imagined and imaginary city of an artist who also invites us to use our imagination as we travel through his spaces, often stunning and unmistakable." - Arnaldo Saraiva

Alfredo Cunha who we are talking about is the man with his camera and his gaze. Any good photojournalist senses, before he knows it clearly, that an image, which must contain all content and seduction, is, has always been a decisive moment. Before being defined by Cartier-Bresson, it already existed in the mind of those who photograph the event, the face and the movement. In Alfredo Cunha's long 50-year career, much has changed: the country he photographs; the equipment he uses - far from the very first Petri FT, the Leica M3, which he started using in 1973, and all the Leicas that followed and which he has always remained faithful to; photography - from analog, mostly black and white, to digital, which he has been using since 2003. The photojournalistic image responds to the requirement of agreement with the text, it is also linked to where, when, how and why. However, when the photographer has already defined his style, and this is the case of Alfredo Cunha, the seduction of the image overlaps the seduction of the news. In all of them it becomes difficult to associate the image with a style because Alfredo Cunha goes beyond the current trend and theme. And it is in this regard that we can say, with Barthes, that his photographs are the result without a code, they depend on the transmission of his for our affection. Teresa Siza (adapted text)

What happens when three friends, like César Mourão, Miguel Araújo and António Zambujo, decide to go together on vacation to the Algarve? Conversation after conversation, guitar after guitar, improvisation generates improvisation. Being fans of each other for a long time, when suddenly, they were creating and improvising songs together, with no other intention than to have fun. And so, it was. The good memories of those days led us to want to share these moments of complicity with the audience. They then decided to invite Luísa Sobral, herself a very peculiar improviser, to whom they are devoted fans and friends, to join them. The result? A magnificent Disarray (Desconcerto) of music and good humour, created a la minute, absolutely improvised, absolutely unmissable, that will surprise them as much as the audience, and that might be even better than going on vacation with them.

At first it was “me and many”, then it became “many and me” and finally it became just “many”. Not that I got lost, forgotten, diluted or evaporated, no! I simply put myself where I really belong. Very, very slowly, that was the most important thing to understand. Yes, there are many of us!!! Many and little!! There are many of us, little and young!! Lilliput is a journey through the human being. Undertaken by tiny human beings. So little that when compared to those beings which cover the whole stage, we are giants. Giants! Imagine the size of someone who believes we are giants! With great care, we are able to see and listen to them through cameras and sound amplification and ... those little beings may talk about us! On second thought, there are also many of us, little and young ... - Ainhoa Vidal

Written to commemorate the bicentenary of the United States of America, this work is the result of Olivier Messiaen's trip to Utah. Impressed by the huge gorges that characterise the landscape of that region, he used them as a starting point for an elevation of the music, which starts from these geological formations towards the stars, with numerous birdsongs in between. Despite the monumentality of the piece, the orchestra that gives it its body is curiously reduced to 43 instruments, with a predominant percussion section that helps to create extraordinary sound images. A very demanding piece for any of the instrumentalists involved, among which is the prestigious pianist Paulo Álvares, an acclaimed specialist in the repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries. Directing will be Sylvain Cambreling, a conductor who has already been awarded the MIDEM Contemporary Music Award for his recordings of Messiaen's orchestral works.

FIBRA has as its genesis the visual potential of costumes, adopting them as main character and the starting point for the scenic creation. The clothes-body epidermis emerges as the medium to explore the ambiguity and beauty of human emotions, linked with the notion of deformity and metamorphosis. Based on the limitations and adjustments between the wearable piece and a body, one finds pretexts to reflect upon what’s beautiful and ugly in a symbiotic relationship whose inherent concern is a more active sensory communication between matter, artist and viewer. When putting on the textile wrapping, the performer isolates himself from the outside. Smells, sounds and touch are heightened and, at the same time, concentrated, being dominated. That which is visible takes on a dance of countless identities. - Filipe Moreira & Lola Sousa

This work is organised from research rituals around time, its occupation, suspension and condensation. Gathered in an accumulation logic, on stage are reused objects, low-fi technology, amplification devices and recordings collected randomly during the process. From this environment, the performers make a mosaic of actions, configuring physical and mental spaces that summon the effects of slowness, speed, repetition, continuity, discontinuity, measurement or even forgetting time. The choreographic and sound fabric produced is also interwoven by fragments of shared memories, subjected to transformation and wear and tear processes.

Back to recording solo albums, the remarkable Lena d'Água presents her latest album, Desalmadamente. Considered the first Portuguese woman to join a rock band, Lena d'Água debuted in the Beatnicks, still in the 70s, followed by the foundation of Salada de Frutas, briefly joining Atlântica, performing children's songs and her solo success still in the 80s. Thirty years later, Desalmadamente marks a return to the future, with songs by Pedro da Silva Martins and arrangements and production by the musicians who accompany the artist live, In a concert that will be a "big party", the singer will perform the new songs, nor forgetting the most iconic songs of her vast career. Venue: Associação de Moradores do Bairro Social da Pasteleira

This last chapter of the series explores the complex relationships between cinema's audiovisual practices and resources and the dynamics inherent in musical production and interpretation, in particular, of North American black music. It explores and shows strategies of artistic intermediary that import the advances of black culture in the areas of music, dance and oratory to the audiovisual territory. According to Arthur Jafa, the epithet of black artistic production (and black culture as a whole) occurs in musical manifestations (from jazz to hip-hop), where these are the dominant form. As such, the promotion of an aesthetic advance in specifically black cinema will only benefit from the identification and understanding of the variables that mark this singularity and popularity. The films that make up the two screenings of this last part of the The Dark Matter of Black Cinema cycle cover the universe of music - particularly jazz - both at the thematic and at the formal level, through the involvement of musicians in the practice of cinema, as directors, technicians or actors. The first screening is dedicated to a director of the L.A. Rebellion movement that greatly influenced Jafa's relationship with cinema, Larry Clark, and what was considered “the only jazz film in the history of cinema”, Passing Through (preceded by the rebellious provocation of the musician-filmmaker Ed Bland). The second screening is held under the aegis of the claim, with the dreamlike editing by Dawn Suggs, the street photography (and denunciation) by Khalik Allah and the page to the father of the black revolution, Malcolm X, “the angriest man in America". This second part is, therefore, characterized by objects of an exploratory nature that seek to pave the way for the possibilities of cinema as an art of synthesis of a whole culture, experimenting with different approaches to the rhythm of editing, the cadence of capturing and projecting images and sounds and the frame rate (from the biggest frenzy to the still image).