Programa de Abertura | Performance Libertas Da condição de pessoa livre
With Vasco Araújo
Type: Public Call for Performance
Participants are invited to sing Go, I think, by Giuseppe Verdi, in a collective choral march through the streets of Coimbra, an artistic action and a public gesture of freedom that transform urban space into a moment of shared expression.
Anozero, Biennial of Coimbra, launches a public call for participation in the performance Libertas. The status of a free person, by the artist Vasco Araújo, which will take place on April 11, 2026, in Coimbra, within the scope of the inauguration of the biennial.
The initiative is carried out in collaboration with the BaixaVoz choir, inviting hundreds of participants to join a collective choir that will perform Go, I think, the famous Opera Slave Choir Nabucco, by Giuseppe Verdi, one of the most emblematic historical hymns against oppression.
Internationally recognized, Vasco Araújo, Lisbon, 1970, develops a work that explores issues related to identity, power and representation, often crossing references from music, literature and art history.
The performance will take the form of a peaceful march, in which participants will walk and sing in choir along some of the main arteries of the city of Coimbra. The route starts at Praça 8 de Maio, in front of the Church of Santa Cruz, follows Rua Ferreira Borges, crosses the Ponte de Santa Clara and culminates in the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, epicenter of Anozero, Biennial of Coimbra.
Dressed in white, participants will embody a collective action that questions the very idea of freedom and the power relations that cross societies, classes and individuals. Through the evocation of relations historically marked by oppression, such as colonizer and colonized, lords and slaves, conservatives and liberals, men and women, the performance proposes a public reflection on who has the freedom to speak and on the limits that structure social life.
Participation is open to any interested person, resident or not in Coimbra, without age limit.
Rehearsal: 10 Apr 2026, 19:00, Convent São Francisco, with guidance from masters Catarina Moura and Luís Pedro Madeira, bass choir.
Performance: 11 Apr 2026, 14:30.
Participants are requested to wear white, although shoes do not have to follow this indication. It is also recommended that the accessories be white or avoided during the performance.
Registrations: comunicacao@anozero-bienaldecoimbra.pt
More information: habaixacoimbra@gmail.com
Location: 8 de Maio Square, Ferreira Borges Street, Santa Clara Bridge and Santa Clara-a-Nova Monastery
The Union of Parishes of Coimbra, Sé Nova, Santa Cruz, Almedina and São Bartolomeu, the Agency for the Promotion of Downtown Coimbra, APBC, and the Union of Parishes of Santa Clara and Castelo Viegas support the dissemination of this initiative, which crosses the territories where they develop their activity.