Notes on Curatorship, Cultural Programming and Coloniality in Portugal

Abstract

This article examines the impact of contemporary curating and cultural programming in the configuration of critical perspectives on Portugal’s postcolonial identity. It argues that visual creativity is forging a new paradigm in the Portuguese cultural field. In this context, postcolonial discourses are not silenced but, rather, aligned with international agendas in broader cultural initiatives mirroring the transformation of the main Portuguese cities into cosmopolitan, multicultural, and multiethnic enclaves. This situation, however, does not imply that these new visual productions are liberated from the present contradictions deriving from the legacies of colonialism. In addressing this situation, the essay seeks to understand how artistic practices and curatorial conceptions have begun to develop a critical reading of the major questions centered around current debates on coloniality in Portugal.