To be held in 2025-26, Fluid Prospections is a programme of performances by Contemporânea, part of a wider project, with artistic direction by Celina Brás, which aims to celebrate hybrid universes; the concept of hybrid as a process of negotiation and dialogue that enhances new forms of knowledge and reinforces poetic and political potentiality of art. Exploring the relationship between moving image, performance and sound, it focuses on artistic practices that problematise these issues. The hybrid space as an unstable and fragile condition, of fusion or alienation - sensitive matter, field of action and production of multiple possibilities. These instruments of interrelation and contamination constitute, in contemporary art, a privileged space of freedom, consolidation and confrontation of forces and dynamics associated with the poetics of hybridity, transnational imaginaries, other identities, cultures and discourses.

In 2025, Fluid Prospections will take place on 27 and 28 June at Praia da Granja and Rampa, in Porto.

On the 27th, the Gata da Mata collective invites you to a Seaweed Walk at Praia da Granja, a morning workshop to collect and share knowledge about edible seaweed on the Atlantic coast, followed by conversation and tasting.

On Saturday, Rampa hosts Invenção do pensar, by António Poppe, a performance, conversation and soliloquy with a coral-brain. This is followed by Raquel Lima's o meu útero não está na europa, an epigenetic, holistic and artistic investigation into the relationship between uterine ancestry and practices of self-care, healing and liberation. Mariana Vilanova presents Colónia, a performance that submerges the public in a microbiological oceanic territory, calling for post-anthropocentric reflections. The day ends with Waterbowls, a concert by Japanese artist Tomoko Sauvage, who, by tuning water and vessels in her aqueous electroacoustic instrument, animates the inanimate, in a vibrating and contemplative experience.

Programme

Friday 27th June, Praia da Granja

10:00 - 13:00 - Gata da Mata, Caminhada de algas, talk and tasting

Saturday 28th June, Ramp

17:30 - Opening

18:00 - António Poppe, Invenção do pensar

18:45 - Raquel Lima, o meu útero não está na europa

19:30 - Mariana Vilanova, Colónia

20:15 - Tomoko Sauvage, Waterbowls

21:00 - Closing

Gata da Mata, Caminhada de algas

This walk takes us into the fascinating world of seaweed. We'll identify, care and collect edible seaweed, learn about its various uses and potentiality, followed by a talk and tasting.

António Poppe, Invenção do pensar

Invention of Thinking is a performance, conversation, soliloquy, between the artist and a brain coral. A hermaphroditic species, brain corals have reproductive cells for both sexes in the same individual. In the process of reproduction, external fertilisation occurs in which the gametes are dispersed synchronously in the water. The larvae then develop into the planktonic form of cnidarians (polyps), which are carried by currents and tides until they settle on the substrate or are preyed upon by other organisms.

Raquel Lima, o meu útero não está na europa

The jaw and pelvis are connected from the embryonic stage, and the alignment and relaxation of one profoundly affects that of the other. If the jaw and throat are relaxed, so are the buttocks and pelvis. Expressing dense emotions through the voice is an essential condition for uterine and mandibular health. The head rationalises, the voice expresses, but it is the uterus that holds the memories1. Hence, some wombs silently scream what others would say if they had not been historically silenced. my uterus is not in europe is an epigenetic, holistic, and artistic investigation into the relationship between uterine ancestry and intuitive movements that seek practices of self-care, healing, and liberation.

Mariana Vilanova, Colónia

Finally, we dive into the gelatinous bodies suspended in the Atlantic waters. The materials that grow and live in this liquid cycle are evoked, from the algae that come to us in the summer months to the thousands of microorganisms that ensure marine life. The images reveal invisible worlds of colonies that grow, expand and organise themselves. The sound transports us to a state synchronized with the ocean tides, and in this submerged environment, the rhythm slows down, thoughts dissolve, and the body rests.

Tomoko Sauvage, Waterbowls

Sauvage has developed her original musical instrument, Waterbowls, by initially drawing inspirations from the traditional South Indian instrument, Jaltarang. Her long-term experimentation and tactile research on properties of materials, transformed water-filled porcelain bowls into an aqueous electroacoustic instrument. She animates the inanimate through tuning water and vessels, making them vibrate and magnifying their tiny sounds that are otherwise quasi-inaudible. Sauvage's active use of acoustic feedback has led her to engage in an encompassing approach to the architecture, the acoustic space and the presence of all matters within, leaving the chance to unfold the rest.