Loading...
5 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
- Local Heritage in Contemporary Times: Artistic Creation and the Intangibilities of PlacePublication . Carvalho, Claudia Pato; Sol, Hermínia; Saraiva, Ana; Rosa, Sandra; Fino, DéboraThis article shares collaborative scientific work done by researchers from the Centre for Social Studies (University of Coimbra, Portugal) and from the Technology, Restoration and Arts Enhancement Center (Polytechnical Institute of Tomar, Portugal) within the REDE ARTÉRIA in cooperation with MOVTOUR. REDE ARTÉRIA is an action research project that aims to create cultural presentations and performances to tour the Centro Region of Portugal. It aspires to encourage a greater professionalization of agents, while aiming to enrich and enhance the cultural offering. Simultaneously, it intends to stimulate a community practice of participatory cultural mapping influencing creation processes and cultural policies in this region. The analysis is made in the specific context of the artistic creation VAGAR, conceived by the Portuguese choreographer Marina Nabais and co-produced by the Municipality of Ourém (Portugal). The analysis results from participatory workshops with local agents, field notes from rehearsal observation, interviews with artists, local participants, local government, and from the final report produced by the dance association responsible for the performance. This work critically reflects on how processes of community participation and of tangible and intangible resource mapping – by providing dialogue opportunities between artists, local agents, municipalities and the local cultural fabric – can develop innovative projects of artistic intervention that link heritage to local, social and cultural civic dynamics. It thus epitomizes the importance of the social dimension of cultural activity.
- Selectivity of memories of WWII in portugal: the role of leisure, education, the arts and the mediaPublication . Sol, Hermínia; de Brito, Marisa P.Even though more than seventy-five years have passed since the end of WWII, its prominence in entertainment media productions along with the global emergence of memorial markers have contributed to its omnipresence in people’s minds. Nevertheless, the perception of this historical event is still far from reaching consensus as nations tend to interpret and remember episodes in accordance with their perspective, thus adding up to the complexity of WWII and of Holocaust memories. With this in mind, this article describes the idiosyncrasies of Portugal’s recent tribute and remembrance strategies for the victims of WWII. The country’s neutral status, along with a set of cultural and historical specifics, has led to the dissemination of tropes leading to the idea of Portugal as an inherently tolerant and mild-mannered nation. A perception that is often fostered by resorting to monuments, museums, tourism and leisure activities. Despite evidence provided, mostly, by recent academic studies and documentary films, these tropes continue to fuel Portuguese popular imagination and are still prevalent in some recently established WWII memory places.
- Activating Templar Heritage: Tourism, Narrative Strategies and Information TechnologiesPublication . Marques, C. G.; Sol, Hermínia; Pedro, João P.; Mateus, Lígia; Pestana, Hélder; Pinto Coelho, João; Silva, ManuelaWhile fairly established in several western countries, military tourism is still in a grey area in Portugal. In order to bolster the notion that this concept can be a major contributor to tourism activation, an Information System is being developed with the Templar Order as basis. This project is a direct result of the work of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar (Portugal), the Templars Route European Federation and Tomar’s local government. It uses the Rapid Application Development methodology and resorts mostly to a client-server web application, using web standards such as HTML, CSS and JS, and it’s operated by the PHP program language and SGBD Mysql for data persistence. The IS fills a void as far as military tourism heritage platforms are concerned. It’s user friendly design and architecture make for a pleasant research experience while the inclusion of more updated and historical narratives along with storytelling strategies increase its appeal among a non-academic audience. The recent COVID-19 outbreak brought about the need to adapt the original model to an ever-increasing virtual culture trend.
- Dodging Nostalgia: filming and dealing with facts in industrial heritage sitesPublication . Sol, Hermínia; Luz, JoãoDocumentary film is commonly seen and defined has a genre with social engagement ambitions. In fact, many directors and critics view it as a form of social history by giving central roles to individuals or communities that tend to be rendered invisible or voiceless by mainstream media. This perspective gains relevance when one considers films which deal with labour relations in manufacturing plants which, often, expose forms of psychological violence inflicted by those in power positions towards the underprivileged. Filmmakers such as Luc Decaster, Michael Moore as well as Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, to mention but a few, have all worked on film narratives that explore the process of deindustrialization in their countries of origin. While exposing the complexity and disturbing effects of the dismantling of an industrial order, the adopted stance is one that refuses to glorify the outgoing paradigm. Inspired by the work of the aforementioned directors, the authors of this paper have ceased the opportunity to work on a film about the extinction of a paper producing industrial node in Tomar (Portugal) and on the repercussions for the region. During the course of filming, however, they felt the need to produce a theoretical reflection on the negotiating process adopted to reach a balance between the perspectives of elements of former managerial and technical staff. With that in mind, this proposal aims at sharing their musings as well as the difficulties found during the research and shooting periods to distance themselves from an industrial sublime nostalgic narrative that effaces the complexity of class conflicts, along with the violence of manually assembled work, by focusing on the grandeur of the buildings and of the machinery. Special emphasis will be placed on the difficulties of dodging a nostalgic industrial sublime narrative. Firstly, because this narrative is still very much ingrained in a prevailing industrial heritage protection discursive trend and, secondly, because it was a narrative shared by white and blue collar-workers alike. Hence, the sanitizing and violent features of the dominant nostalgic discourse will be analyzed by resorting to a work still in progress.