The Forum of the Future shows that culture awareness is not a figure of speech in Porto

The Forum of the Future is an annual event that gathers in the city of Porto renowned specialists and thinkers on a specific theme, and this year's edition is devoted to debating ancient times and civilizations in relation with contemporaneity.
The Forum of the Future shows that culture awareness is not a figure of speech in Porto

Day 4 of the Forum of the Future programme features "Parthenon Marbles", a performance by Romanian artist and choreographer Alexandra Pirici, at Pátio das Nações, in Palácio da Bolsa, for three consecutive days, from 7 to 9 November. The audience is free to join in and exit at will, between 12.30 and 3.30 pm.

Pirici explores the historical implications of monuments to draw attention on the production of economic value within the global cultural heritage or the role of the arts in the context of current economic trends.

At 5 pm, architect Toyo Ito, winner of the Pritzker Prize in 2013, will address the importance of reconstruction projects, such as high seawalls, temporary housings, or public housings, in particular of ruins that have arisen in Japan over recent years, due to natural catastrophes, and how these new structures objectify nature and respect individuality to such an extent that leads to the "segregation", of people from nature and between people as well.

At 7 pm, visual artist Walid Raad features "The Loudest Muttering Is Over: towards a history of art in the Arab world".

Walid Raad will present his two long-term ongoing art projects The Atlas Group (1989-2004), and Scratching on things I could disavow (2007-) in this talk, moderated by Delfim Sardo.

At the same time but in a different place, at Teatro Carlos Alberto, playwright Martin Crimp explains why works by authors such as Sophocles, Aeschylus or Euripides continue to be staged and inspire contemporary writing.

Wednesday concludes "The Forum of the Future" programme with Marina Warner, writer and mythology expert and Beatriz Colomina, historian and architecture theorist, who will present "Sympósion", also known as The Banquet, a philosophical text by Plato dated c. 385-370 BC. The performance features notable men chatting and debating while attending a banquet, such as philosopher Socrates, General Alcibiades, and comic playwright Aristophanes. The main topic is love, the praise of Eros, the god of love and desire.

The highlights of tomorrow, 8 November, are two Artist Talks featuring Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley, at 5 pm at Rivoli. The duo will debate painting, performance, poetry, and video in their artistic practice.

At 7 pm, in Serralves, French artist Christian Boltanski, whose artwork includes photography, painting, sculpture and installation, addresses universal issues such as loss, memory, childhood and death. His works often serve as memorials for key historical moments of major civilizational impact.

Margaret Atwood, the Canadian multi awarded poet, novelist, writer, literary critic, essayist, inventor, teacher and environmental activist will be at the Grand Auditorium of Rivoli, on 8 November, at 9.30 pm, to discuss the importance of mythology in her work, encompassing topics such as gender, identity, language and social order.

All sessions of The Forum of the Future are free, upon prior ticket collection, on the day of the event and before it starts. Ticket collection is limited to two tickets per person.

Porto Municipal Theatre ticket office operates from 1 pm till 10 pm, everyday.

The box office at TeCA is open from 2 pm till 7 pm, and the Serralves Museum ticket office runs from 10 am till 7 pm.

See here the full programme of The Forum of the Future.