Dissemination
“Travessias”, by Vítor Hugo Gomes, on display at Lisboa Incomum
The installation Travessias arrives at Lisboa Incomum as part of the 9th edition of the event Culture & Sustainability 2025, taking place from 21 to 23 November. Created by CIAC researcher Vítor Hugo Gomes, this artefact makes the visitor’s presence an integral element of the work.
Travessias is an interactive, artivist installation that confronts visitors with the dramatic reality faced by thousands of people forced to leave their countries in search of shelter, support, and better living conditions. Focusing on maritime crossings, it contrasts the familiar idea of the sea as a space of introspection and peace with its invisible side, marked by suffering and tragedy. As the presence of a visitor is detected, the landscape changes: the sea ceases to be calm and contemplative and reveals what our gaze typically leaves out of frame. The visitor is called upon to assume their gaze and recognise their role as a witness to this reality. The peace and tranquillity of the sea rely on our indifference, but when we confront it directly, the sea returns to us the urgency of commitment. Travessias challenges each person with an unavoidable ethical choice: to look or to look away, to acknowledge or to deny what persists even when we prefer to pretend it does not exist.
The “Culture & Sustainability” event is co-organised annually by Projecto DME at the Lisboa Incomum venue.
Now in its eighth edition since 2017 (the year the Lisbon space opened), the event aims to foster an interdisciplinary discussion—artistic, scientific, political—on the roles artistic practices can play in raising environmental awareness, contributing to debates on themes such as sustainability and ecology. These discussions take place between the audience and invited guests through a range of activities, including conferences, concerts, and workshops.
As in the last three editions, the event is co-organised with CCMAR – Centre for Marine Sciences of the University of Algarve and will take place on 21, 22, and 23 November, with the Ocean as its guiding theme. Under the subtitle “Migrations and Climate in the Decade of the Ocean”, the programme aims to reflect on the relationships between the climate crisis, marine ecosystems, and human displacement.
More information about the artwork and the artist.
More information about the event (here).
Esta publicação também está disponível em: Portuguese (Portugal)