FUSO 2024 / 16th edition

“The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”  James Baldwin

Resistance, always.

Experiences of war and exile, migration and displacement, social struggles, identity issues, the climate emergency… are themes that emerge in art at a time marked by the intensification of inequalities and geopolitical clashes, and the strengthening of decolonial practices.

Protest, collaboration and collectivity, personal or documentary narratives, testimonies, satire and provocation, empathy and solidarity… are forms of resistance that artists develop in the face of these great challenges. Amid murmurs of hope, they provide guidelines for understanding contemporary events. 

FUSO 2024, in its 16th edition, remains steadfast in its commitment to presenting works in the field of the moving image that encourage viewers to critically engage with the world around them, reinforcing the importance of video as a tool for reflection and awareness-raising.

ABOUT FUSO

Created in 2009, FUSO is the only Portuguese video art festival with an annual program of national and international production that takes place in Lisbon and the Azores (FUSO Insular). The program is as eclectic as the languages that video art embodies. As a medium, it is undoubtedly the one that has greater flexibility, greater ability to encompass and cross contemporary artistic disciplines: the visual arts, performance, dance and theatre, film or literature.

The program brings together canonical works from the beginnings of video art with the most contemporary production, contributing to the knowledge of the evolution of video art alongside the artistic developments in contemporary society over the last 60 years. The very evolution from analogue to digital necessarily implies the development of new languages and possibilities of manipulation and expansion of the moving image.

FUSO presents works selected by national and international curators, in programmes especially designed for the festival. The notoriety and experience of the guest curators guarantee the consistency and quality of the programming, composed of works by internationally renowned artists in parallel with works by young artists, both Portuguese and foreign. And each year, the festival also pays tribute to historical artists.

One of the main aspects of FUSO is the promotion of the new national creation. Every year an Open Call is launched to Portuguese and foreign residents in Portugal, in order to disseminate, distinguish and encourage emerging artists.

The daily interaction of the curators and artists during the week of the festival encourages the establishment of new partnerships, generating a network of connections and collaborations. The circulation and internationalisation of artists and their works is closely linked to this practice. In addition, FUSO is also presented in several Portuguese cities and in other countries, designing different exhibition formats adapted to the location.  

This is how FUSO fulfils its mission of promoting cultural diversity and contributing to the dissemination of Portuguese artists inside and outside the country.

Currently, FUSO INSULAR - Video Art Festival of the Azores takes place in the archipelago, with sessions put together by national and international curators, and a creative laboratory for local artists. The Moving Image Laboratory, a residency program held during the summer on the island of São Miguel, aims the creation of video works and the reflection on the moving image as an expression that is transversal to all artistic practices, crossing languages of experimental film, performance, photography, and cinema. 

By stimulating critical thinking around new media and by promoting the enrichment of knowledge and dissemination of video art, FUSO contributes significantly to the dynamics of national contemporary art.

FUSO - Lisbon international video art festival is a Duplacena/Horta Seca production; funded by the Portuguese Republic - Culture - DgArtes, Lisbon City Council, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and Institut Français Portugal; with support from the EDP/MAAT Foundation and an institutional partnership with Egeac.

FUSO is part of the Lisboa na Rua 2024 programme, an initiative of Lisbon City Council and EGEAC