FUSO 2023 | 15th EDITION

FUSO celebrates 15 years of uninterrupted activities and testifies to the malleability of video as a creative and critical tool. Capable of encompassing and crossing the various contemporary artistic disciplines and evolving into fields of research that allow for new experiments, video art is an accessible and important instrument for reflection on the times we live in.

Urgent issues, such as belonging and the right to freedom, the patterns of inequalities that have been woven through colonialism, the climate emergency, wars and challenges facing the world today are topics that matter. 

And that reflects in the programming of the 15th edition of FUSO, which features works by artists whose practices define contemporary realities and bring attention to the ways in which these complex issues have existed, and still remain, in society - in our institutions, in the media, in our communities and in our thoughts.

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.

Two prizes are awarded - the EDP/MAAT Foundation Acquisition Award (jury’s choice), and the Duplacena Incentive Award (public’s choice)

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 to create a video art work and constitute a platform for the presentation of these artists.

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 República Portuguesa – Cultura / DgArtes, Lisbon City Council and EDP/MAAT Foundation; with the institutional partnership of Egeac and support of the Institut Français Portugal, under the MaisFrança program. FUSO is part of the Lisboa na Rua 2023 programme, an initiative by CML and EGEAC.

Esfera

Diretor
António Câmara Manuel

Artistic Diretor
Jean-François Chougnet

General and Curatorial Coordinator
Rachel Korman

Production Diretor
Ana Calheiros

Technical Diretor
Alexandre Almeida Coelho

Communication
Rita Bonifácio / Paris, Texas

Press | Social Media
Ricardo Rodrigues

Graphic Design
ilhas studio

Website
Maria Nery

Photography
Alípio Padilha

Open Call Jury
Irit Batsry, Isabel Nogueira, Margarida Chantre, Susana De Sousa Dias e Maxime Martinot

Production
DuplaCena
Horta Seca