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Walk&Talk Azores Festival the Atlantic creative nature

Date uploaded: July 3, 2015

Walk&Talk, the Azores International Public Art Festival, returns between the 17th of July and the 1st of August 2015, for its fifth edition. More than 60 creators from around the world will gather to enrich with 20 new interventions on the local public art circuit, an open-air museum with more than 80 pieces that have been created during the past editions of the festival. Artistic residencies, exhibitions, workshops, talks, music, performances and cinema, complete this year's program and will be presented in several locations and cultural spaces on São Miguel Island.

From visual arts to performing arts and architecture, Walk&Talk Festival is based on an artistic residency model that encourages creation in permanent dialogue with public space, local culture and population. It defies the concepts of high and low culture, of central and peripheral artistic contexts by gathering new talents with well-know contemporary artists and by intersecting different universes, usually parallels and not communicants, within the arts and culture universe.

Artists like Alexandre Farto aka Vhils, Pastel, Brad Downey, Never 2501, André da Loba or Filippo Minelli will share Walk&Talk´s public art circuit line-up with other prominent artists, from murals to temporary art installations and architecture projects.

Walk&Talk’s Art Residency Program includes nine thematic artistic residencies in different areas of expression like contemporary dance, performance, arts and crafts, architecture, photography, video, design and land art. The program hosts 25 artists and will also gather prominent Portuguese creators, such us choreographer Luís Guerra, photographer Sandra Rocha and designer Nuno Coelho, with Azorean collectives, artists and artisans to explore and develop collaborative projects to be presented during the festival.

Alongside these projects, the Walk&Talk Gallery is the meeting point between creators and the public. The major laboratory of the festival’s activities, hosts a daily program with areas dedicated to the presentation of art projects as well as work and creation spaces for its educational program.

A collective exhibition curated by João Pedro Vale and Nuno Alexandre Ferreira will join 17 portuguese artists to address issues related to movement of people and goods in a globalized system, where the emotional part and the sense of belonging to a particular place turns out to be a constraint. Other names like Seattle neo-soul/rap duo THEESatisfaction, New York collective Cherly or La Flama Blanca will perform in the space, crossing music, visual and performing arts.

In and out doors, either by the hand of local talent or by creators travelling especially to the Atlantic region to participate in the festival, during the 16 days that Walk&Talk takes place, the island of São Miguel becomes an open stage for multiple expressions of contemporary art, fostering an environment favorable to artistic sharing and co-creation, features that have become the trademarks of the event.

For more information click here.