Telling the Tide: Art, Memory and Coastal Resilience in Motion
CoastARTS Portugal
The Portuguese case study of CoastARTS focuses on the coastal zone of Figueira da Foz, particularly the Cova Gala–Leirosa sector, where extreme erosion rates and sea level rise pose urgent challenges.
Between 1958 and 2021, over 1320 hectares of land disappeared along the Portuguese coast. In this area, 17% of the coastline was affected by erosion between 2010 and 2018, rising to 52% by 2021.
This vulnerable territory, rich in cultural memory, provides a compelling context for exploring ecocultural crises and resilience. Our research combines empirical diagnosis, ethnographic inquiry and practice-based artistic experimentation to bridge the gap between environmental risk and everyday life.
Activities include stakeholder mapping, oral history and co-creative workshops with Teatro Associação Viver em Alegria. Artistic performance is used to transform passive observers into active participants in shaping coastal futures. Impact assessment will use mixed methods.
The approach frames performance as a situated epistemology: activating memory, generating knowledge and fostering community agency.
Research team
- Neide P. Areia (Project Lead)
- Cláudia Pato de Carvalho
- Nancy Duxbury
- In association with Teatro Associação Viver em Alegria
Updates from the subproject
Podcasts
Changing our Minds and Hearts through Arts-based Activism
The art of theater dates back to ancient times. We play out stories in order to express and explore our viewpoints, our feelings, our fears, and how we understand the world and perceive its beauty. Performance and theater engage us on a visceral, emotional level, opening us up to the immediacy of the experience while speaking directly to our emotional selves.