Community Development
Desassossegar
A community-based project and sound composition developed with the Conjunto d'Alegria as part of the Cultura em Expansão program.
Synopsis
To unsettle It is a community-based creative project. Directed by Liliana Abreu and Rita Só with the Conjunto d'Alegria as part of the Cultura em Expansão program.
My work on this project began with the convergence of different life paths to create a sound-based work in which memory, words, and silence are transformed into artistic material.
Over the course of four sessions, testimonies, soundscapes, conversations, and moments of sharing were collected, giving rise to a composition built around the participants themselves, while always preserving their privacy and identity.
Text
There are invitations that become events that stay with us long after the work that gave rise to them is over.
The invitation from Liliana and Rita, extended after my concert at the António Lamoso Cineteatro, was one of those moments. I accepted it with a deep sense of gratitude and responsibility. The trust they placed in my work opened the door for me to have an experience I will never forget.
Agree to be part of the project It meant much more than just being part of a show. It meant entering a new human realm, where creativity arose from encounters with people and the stories they brought with them.
It was in this context that I began working with Conjunto d'Alegria.
Over the course of four sessions, we explored memories, conversations, silences, and small, everyday gestures. I recorded voices, gathered fragments of life, and transformed this material into a sound piece designed to speak about people without ever exposing them.
But what actually happened always went beyond the technical scope of the project.
I met people who taught me a different way of looking at time, fragility, and resilience. I saw looks of initial suspicion turn into trust. I heard poems of unexpected delicacy. I was entrusted with confidences that only exist when someone feels they are truly being heard.
I'll never forget the moment when one of the participants, who was battling four types of cancer, told me with absolute serenity:
"That guy's a bad guy, but I'm even worse than he is."
There are phrases that stay with us because they encapsulate an entire life.
This project taught me that community art isn’t about working on people. It’s about working with them, accepting that the artist (as a person) is also inevitably transformed in the process.
In the end, the work presented was only the visible part of a much larger process.
The real outcome was that it reaffirmed my conviction that listening remains one of the deepest aspects of artistic creation.
And that is why I remain deeply grateful to Liliana and Rita—not only for the invitation, but also for their trust. It was that trust that made it possible for me to experience one of the most memorable community processes of my life.
Municipality
Porto
Methodology
The project was based on a participatory listening methodology.
The soundscape was created by organizing the recorded voices, preserving the authenticity of the statements and prioritizing relationships based on trust, respect, and care.
Community
The Conjunto d'Alegria was at the heart of the entire process.
The project sought to recognize the value of the participants’ accumulated experience, affirming memory as a living heritage and transforming their shared experiences into artistic expression.
More than just creating a work of art, this project built a sense of belonging.
Process
The project took place over four in-person sessions with Conjunto d'Alegria.
Each meeting focused on conversation, active listening, and building trust among and with all participants. The sessions were documented through recordings made during the group’s regular meetings, allowing us to capture voices, atmospheres, and small snippets of everyday life.
Subsequently, this material was listened to, selected, edited, and transformed into an original soundscape, crafted in a way that preserves the identity and privacy of each participant.
The process has always prioritized human connection over artistic results, viewing creation as a natural consequence of listening.
Results
The project resulted in a sound piece that was publicly presented in December 2025 as part of a public performance featuring various acts by the Conjunto d'Alegria, directed by Liliana Abreu and Rita Só, with choreography by Mafalda Saloio and music by CRUA.
More than just the artistic outcome, it fostered relationships of trust among participants, created spaces for listening, and reinforced the importance of artistic creation as a tool for intergenerational connection.
It also marked a defining moment in my journey as an artist, deepening the community aspect of my practice. It allowed me to be part of a large, dedicated team that enriched me, and for that I am grateful.
Gallery
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Credits
Fotografias por Carolina Ribeiro.