Author Description

A reflection on the relationship between nature, ecology and politics in the catalog of the Portuguese Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia The publication Greenhouse interweaves texts from artists, curators, as well as theoreticians concerning themes of ecology, identity, history and diaspora in relation to contemporary artistic practices.Commissioned by DGARTES (Direção-Geral das Artes) in Portugal and curated by the artist-curators Mónica de Miranda, Sónia Vaz Borges and Vânia Gala, the pavilion reflects on and manifests the vision of Greenhouse, the official Portuguese representation at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. Looking at the soil as a vector of decolonial thinking and practice, and inspired by the agronomist and leader of the liberation struggle in Guiné-Bissau and Cabo Verde, Amílcar Cabral, the publication brings together historical narratives of ongoing liberations. It looks at contemporary decolonial practices, and imaginings of possible futures in the context of the Anthropocene and continued struggles against structural racism and for historical reparations. The texts are interwoven with images from the exhibition that proposes a collective action through the creation of a "Creole garden" inside the exhibition space. Situated at the intersection between practice, theory and pedagogy, Greenhouse is grounded in four actions: Garden (Installation, Space and Time), Living archive (Movement, Sound and Performance), Schools (Education, History and Revolution), Assemblies (Public and Communities). Together with these action, the "creole garden" blend a wide range of plant species, where they are transmitters of knowledge, survivance and resistance, and the practitioners of life in freedom. (Quelle: Greenhouse)