The School of Arts took part in the 2026 edition of Serralves em Festa, held from May 29 to 31, bringing together hundreds of artists and a multidisciplinary programme over three continuous days. Concerts, performances, installations, cinema, and workshops occupied the several spaces of Serralves, reaffirming the event as a key moment for contemporary artistic practices.

The School of Arts’ participation stood out for the strong presence of students from the BA in Sound and Image, the Digicrea Master’s programme, and the PhD in Science and Technology of the Arts, with projects presented across the Museum, Library, Casa Garden, and Kitchen Area. This involvement reinforced the School’s commitment to artistic experimentation and to placing its students within professional, high-visibility contexts.

Participating artists included Bryan Izurieta, Dila Yumurtacı, Jéssica Gaspar, Guy Fleisher, Mia Braga Smith, Dilnaz Gabdolla, Evangelos Aslanidis, Ho-Ting Wei, Paula Molina, Victor Galles, and Rita Castanheira, whose works spanned performance, installation, and collaborative practices.

Liquid Reality - Paula Molina

Liquid Reality, Paula Molina

Mia Braga Smith, Double Sided Coins & [Redacted Statements]

The installations presented at Casa de Serralves, on view between May 29 and 31, explored different relationships between body, technology, politics, and perception. Liquid Reality, by Paula Molina, proposed an interactive experience centred on the dissociation between body and reality through distortion and digital fragmentation. Mia Braga Smith’s Double Sided Coins & [Redacted Statements] invited reflection on the hidden narratives behind appearances.

The Voice of Gravity, de Ho-Ting Wei

SHYRAQ, Dilnaz Gabdolla

Home v2.0, Evangelos Aslanidis

Rita Castanheira, partymode101.mp4

Also on display, The Voice of Gravity, by Ho-Ting Wei, established a direct relationship between voice, breath, and physical movement, while The Weight of Statements, by Victor Galles, addressed the tension between physical effort and psychological deconstruction. In SHYRAQ, Dilnaz Gabdolla presented an immersive video installation reflecting on censorship and political systems, and Home v2.0, by Evangelos Aslanidis, used real-time meteorological data to generate a dynamic audiovisual experience. Rita Castanheira presented partymode101.mp4, exploring the avatar as an extension of identity in human–technological relations.

Bryan Izurieta, Allpa Samay

In the field of performance, on May 31, Bryan Izurieta presented Allpa Samay, a work that merged ancestral and contemporary references into an immersive sonic experience centred on memory and transformation.

Also on May 31, the workshop Multispecies Attunement: Fungi, led by Dila Yumurtacı, Jéssica Gaspar, and Guy Fleisher, proposed a sensory and collaborative approach to connecting body, environment, and living organisms, encouraging practices of listening, movement, and shared attention.

The School of Arts’ participation in this edition of Serralves em Festa highlighted the diversity and quality of the work developed by its students, underscoring the institution’s role in fostering artists capable of critically engaging with the contemporary landscape.