A brief look at 2022. Thank you and Season’s Greetings.

Armed conflicts, the energy crisis and the rise of extremist forces particularly marked 2022. On the other hand, 2022 saw an effusive return to cultural life, with culture playing an essential role in the holistic, restorative and affective response to the world.

2022 was a year in which BoCA traveled nationally, but above all internationally, with projects commissioned and produced by us: “O Barco / The Boat” by Grada Kilomba was in Barcelona, Baden Baden and London, “Trouble” by Gus Van Sant was in Reims , Valladolid, Hamburg and Paris, “A Tralha” by Capicua traveled to Viseu, “Os Animais e o Dinheiro” by Gonçalo M. Tavares and Os Espacialistas were present in Funchal, but also other projects, such as “Cattivo” by Marlene Monteiro Freitas and “Brasa” by Tiago Cadete, crossed borders to other countries and continents. Mónica Calle, LASTESIS, Miles Greenberg, Gabriel Ferrandini,… there were 10 mini-docs that we released about 10 artists and collectives that were part of the 3rd edition of the BoCA Biennial. We were at TNDMII, MAAT, CCB and the Monsanto Forest with the 6th edition of the BoCA Summer School, bringing to Lisbon unavoidable artists from the performing, visual and music arts, such as ORLAN, El Conde de Torrefiel and Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, who conducted workshops with diversified audiences. We inaugurated the participatory project “Mutantes – entre o teatro e o museu”, dedicated to young artists, and bringing together partner theatres and museums, which resulted in a public performance/reflection consisting of hundreds of questions. With a time commitment of 10 years of thought, care and programming, “A Defesa da Natureza” continued to call on the public to plant trees and think about the programming of these natural spaces. It was a privilege to bring together so many artists, audiences, partnerships and fundamental support around our programming – to all, thank you.

We went through a year, geographies, artistic and natural fields, face-to-face and online devices, and our affections. May new crossings be drawn in 2023, with us and with you. 2023 will bring the 4th edition of the BoCA Biennial.
Season’s Greetings!

— John Romão, Artistic Director