
Guided tour – Performing Ritual
As part of the exhibition Black Ancient Futures, an unprecedented collaboration between MAAT, DIDI (Afrontosas Collective) and Pedro Barbosa (Amor Association) will present a programme celebrating black, queer and Afro-diasporic art, transforming the museum space into a stage for narratives and knowledge. This artistic journey invites visitors to understand and experience the central themes of the exhibition, taking as its starting point and main motif the cult of Yemoja, celebrated on 2 February. Characterised by rituals, offerings and celebrations on beaches, where devotees give thanks for blessings and ask for protection, this tradition symbolises resistance, ancestry and spiritual connection for black culture, strengthening community ties and preserving ancestral practices. Celebrating Yemoja, Mother of the Waters, is an act of cultural affirmation of identity and the recovery of black ancestral memories, promoting a profound dialogue around identity, resistance and territoriality.
Curated by DIDI and Pedro Barbosa, the programme runs throughout the afternoon of Saturday 1 February, with a celebratory programme that includes a special guided tour in the form of a procession and various performances, following a tour of the exhibition in the museum's two buildings and outside. At the end of the programme, varied snacks will be provided to the performers and the audience.
We suggest visitors bring white clothes.
Capacity: 30 people
Meeting point: MAAT Gallery
Language: Portuguese
Price: 11€ (museum entrance ticket)
Conception and Curatorship
Di Candido aka DIDI is a transdisciplinary artist whose work includes research and artistic-cultural production, curating, performance art and DJing. With a degree in Law from Candido Mendes University and a Master's in Communication, Culture and Technology from ISCTE – IUL, Di Candido's work covers topics such as collective (re)territorialisation, cyberculture, ecology and cuir mythologies, identities and anti-racist activism, with a focus on cuir, black and migrant communities in the diaspora.
Co-founder of UNA – União Negra das Artes, Coletivo Afrontosas and BATEKOO in Europe, their work involves collaborations with collectives and artists from the Afro-diaspora on cultural projects, artworks and performances, having exhibited their work in institutions such as BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts, La Briqueterie, Centre National de la Danse (CND), Museu do Aljube, Teatro do Bairro Alto, Culturgest, DDD – Festival Dias da Dança, KunstenFestivaldesarts and Alkantara Festival, among others.
Pedro Barbosa is a cultural producer, poet, playwright, art activist and researcher of religions of African origin. He is president and spiritual leader of the Amor Association and a board member of the Casa do Brasil in Lisbon. He is the director and producer of Agada Cia de Dança Afro Contemporânea. He was a presenter on the ‘Fala Migrante’ podcast and a reporter on RTP Africa's ‘Bem Vindos’ programme. The foundations of his artistic research are love and ancestral spiritual technologies. He states: ‘I am the dream of my ancestors.’
Artists
Tony Omolu is a hybrid artist and non-binary performer who moves between traditional and contemporary body arts. Their work integrates aesthetics and techniques rooted in Amefricanity, a central concept that guides their artistic practice and thinking. They mobilise an Afro-Latin American Cuir praxis, articulating the body, identity and creation in a dialogue that tensions and expands the boundaries of contemporary artistic expression.
Jorge Cipriano, dancer, choreographer and movement director, was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. His artistic practice reflects the influence of this spirituality and the diversity of his identities as a black man, an immigrant and a member of the queer community. Trained at the Balé Folclórico da Bahia Foundation, he has been part of international casts such as The Lion King in Hamburg and London. Currently based in Portugal, he teaches Afro-Brazilian dance, directs Agadá Companhia de Dança Afro Contemporânea and continues to deepen his research into Afro-diasporic dance.
Jéssica Argôlo began her artistic career at the age of three at the Balé Folclórico da Bahia Foundation Dance School and consolidated her training at FUNCEB. With sensitivity and expressiveness, she excelled in Afro-Brazilian dance. After five years in Portugal, Jéssica returned to the stage, undergoing a continuous process of research and discovery of new artistic endeavours. Her vibrant dance transcends borders, enchanting audiences. Jéssica continues to explore and celebrate the culture that inspires her.
Born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, Maria Guilhermina began her artistic career in the Afro blocos of Salvador’s Carnival, with a strong connection to her cultural roots. She is an initiate of the African religion devoted to the Oshun orisha, which has brought greater spiritual depth to her art. As well as being a dancer, she founded Ko Ade – Construindo Coroas, an Afro-futurist fashion label, and has been working on ancestral cookery in Portugal since 2020, using her cultural heritage as the basis for her creations. She advocates for the promotion and preservation of Afro-Brazilian culture.
Aline Carvalho is a performer and singer from São José dos Campos, São Paulo. Her first professional performance in Portugal was in Projeto Serei / Afrodiaspórica, developed by Dori Nigro for FestivalDD23. Os Malungos for Trema Festival 2023 developed by Rafael Campos and Canto na Praia for Kismif Conference 2021 developed by Elizângela Pinheiro.
Notes
- The program will begin at MAAT Central, at the entrance to the exhibition.
- To attend the program, you must collect a wristband from the MAAT Central Ticket Office, on a first-come, first-served basis, up to the capacity limit. Audioguides will be distributed before the start of the program, upon presentation of the wristband.
- At the end of the program, there will be a social gathering with snacks with the performers and the audience of the experience.