Project: ‘A Thick Cloud of Love’

For almost a month and a half, the Rectorate of NOVA University Lisbon will present the project ‘A Thick Cloud of Love’. Some Queer Theses, Antitheses and Synthesises at NOVA University Lisbon’. 

This curatorial project is born from the desire to confront and intersect the academic and artistic worlds. Some Queer Theses, Antitheses and Synthesises at NOVA University Lisbon’, is born from the desire to confront and intersect the academic and artistic worlds. 

The title is inspired by a passage from William S. Burroughs’s book Queer: ‘I had a duty to live and bear my burden proudly for all to see, to conquer prejudice, ignorance, and hate with knowledge, sincerity, and love. When you are threatened by a hostile presence, you emit a thick cloud of love like an octopus squirts out.’ 

Different works by various artists in various formats 

Curated by Pedro Fraro, ‘A Thick Cloud of Love’ presents a selection of works in various formats, including visual arts, installation, performance and film. Over the course of a month and a half, it seeks to highlight the encounter between the public, art and academia every week. These various works and situations challenge, connect and stimulate the production of knowledge (and its usual procedures). 

At Passos Perdidos, works by Ana Pérez-Quiroga, Francisco Mallmann, Hilda de Paulo, João Pedro Vale & Nuno Alexandre Ferreira, Luisa Cunha and Thomas Hirschhorn will be exhibited alongside a variety of multimedia documentation, highlighting the artistic intervention of Horácio Frutuoso (who also created the graphic image for this project) in academic production. 

The auditorium will feature weekly performances by André Teodósio (Teatro Praga), Jenny Larrue, Lou Vives, Paulo Pascoal and Rogério Nuno Costa, as well as films and videos by Carlos Motta, Cláudia Varejão, Lolo Aeziki, Odete and Vasco Araújo. 

Jesualdo Lopes will give a presentation on ‘The Blacker the Berry Project’; António Fernando Cascais will organise and moderate the conference ‘Artivism, Queer Thought and Academia: Interactions’, which will feature contributions from António Fernando Cascais (organisation/moderation); Ana Cristina Santos (CES – Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra) and João Manuel de Oliveira (ICS – Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon). 

Contributions from the Lisbon Queer Film Festival and the NOVA Library Network 

A Thick Cloud of Love will also feature contributions from the Lisbon Queer Film Festival, which will present a selection of historical films over the course of one day, delving deeper into the various proposals and issues raised. 

Collaboration with the NOVA Library Network was crucial in deepening appreciation of the project, providing bibliographic and documentary resources. An initiative from the Film and Death project has also been included in the programme, enabling academic reflection to intersect with the worlds of cinema and the visual arts. 

A list of scientific material on LGBTQIA+ issues will be available soon  

Without any pretence of universality, A Thick Cloud of Love offers a modest opportunity for work, experience, gathering and discussion. It is certainly incomplete, but it will seek to stimulate further dialogue between art and academia on LGBTQIA+ issues. 

Nonconformity is fundamental to artistic discourse and to effective social change. The work of artists and academics, which is full of density and complexity, is essential in helping us to address the immense survival and coexistence challenges posed by today’s world in a more sustained, grounded, creative and inspiring way. We hope that this cloud in the shape of love, the most beautiful of all clouds, will continue to grow. 

In collaboration with the Office of Equality and Inclusion, NOVA Cultura is preparing to publish a list of scientific material produced at the institution on LGBTQIA+ issues on its website. This initiative aims to raise the profile of NOVA’s academic output, promote access to relevant resources, and encourage debate and critical reflection on diversity, identity, and inclusion. 

Check here the whole programme