Shall we run together? 40th anniversary of Teatro Art'Imagem

Photo: Nuno Ribeiro 

From 10 to 12 May, I participated in the meeting 40 Years of Theatre: How theatre has developed in the last 40 years in Portugal, celebrating the anniversary of Teatro Art’Imagem. On the first day, we attended the play “Ai o Medo Que (Nós) Temos de Existir”, the company’s 117th creation. In the following days, we had the opportunity to reflect on four themes:

Panel 1: Theatre and Intervention
with Sara Barros Leitão, José Leitão, Rita Alves Miranda and José Soeiro 

Panel 2: Theatre: Praxis and the Academia
with Fernando Matos Oliveira (University of Coimbra), António Capelo (ACE), Manuela Bronze (ESMAE), Francesca Rayner (University of Minho) and Eugénia Vasques 

Panel 3: Theatrical Decentralisation
with Helena Santos, Jorge Baião (Dramatic Center of Évora), Rui Madeira (Braga Theater Company), Magda Henriques (Comédias do Minho) and Américo Rodrigues (DGArtes) 

Panel 4: Minorities and Theatre
with Flávio Hamilton, Zia Soares, Marta Lança, Francesca Negro, Vanesa Sotelo and Maria João Vaz

It was up to me to make the closing comments, sharing my reflections on what was discussed over the two days. Here they are:

Whose story is it to tell?

National Museum of African-American History and Culture, Washington D.C. (Photo: Justin T. Gellerson / NYT)

I first heard of Emmet Till in 2017, when Dana Schutz’s painting “Open Casket”, on display at the Whitney Biennale, sparked a huge controversy. Emmet Till was brutally murdered, lynched, in 1955, after being accused of having offended a white woman in her grocery store. This murder boosted the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Emmet's mother, Mamie Till, asked that the coffin remain open during her son's funeral for people to see. Her words welcome visitors to the National Museum of African American History and Culture: “Let the people see what I have seen. I think everybody needs to know what had happened to Emmet Till.”