"Treading softly on the Earth": the new cycle of conferences, exhibitions and performances by the School of Arts
The School of Arts, Porto Regional Center, promotes between February 16 and May 22, an international cycle of conferences, exhibitions and performances on the theme "Treading softly on the Earth".
"Treading softly on the Earth" puts the thought of philosopher and activist Ailton Krenak at the center.
The cycle "Stepping Softly on the Earth" integrates poetry, visual arts, music, philosophy, cinema, performance, and literature. There are multiple art forms that will enliven and encourage thought. Ellen Lima, Permafrost, Takumã Kuikuro, Trudruá Dorrico, Uyra Sodoma, and Elena Lopez Riera are some of the artists on the agenda.
Nuno Crespo, director of Escola das Artes, says that this cycle represents "not only a tribute to the thinker Ailton Krenak, but also a subtle movement of admitting the urgency of these and other teachings, human and non-human." According to EA's director, "different modes of expression will be used in this cycle that allow us to highlight the different ways of walking through the world."
Part of the program are about 15 events that will take place between February and May and are free to all. Through an intense and innovative program, the aim is to focus on the urgency of thinking about the human relationship with nature, but also with technology, with art and with the current policies of representation and visibility.
About Ailton Krenak
Ailton Krenak is a philosopher, thinker, writer and activist. Born in 1953, he is a native of the Rio Doce valley region, in the Amazon. An activist of the socio-environmental movement and in defense of indigenous rights, he promoted and organized the Alliance of the Forest Peoples, which brings together riverine and indigenous communities in the Amazon. He is a commendatory of the Order of Cultural Merit of the Presidency of the Republic and an honorary doctorate from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais.
"To tread softly on the earth so that, shortly after our passage, it is no longer possible to trace our footprints is becoming impossible: our marks are getting deeper and deeper. And every move one of us makes, we all make. Gone is the idea that each of us leaves our individual footprints in the world; when I step on the ground, it is not my footprint that remains, it is ours. And it's the trail of a disoriented humanity, treading deep." Ailton Krenak, Life is not useful, 2020.