JOSÉ OLIVEIRAWhat has art given us, what have we given to art? Friendships.

The exhibition had as its starting point the overlapping of the exhibition period with the 40th anniversary of the artist. Thinking about birthday parties and what this period of life signifies - in particular for people/artists who move mainly in independent spaces - what was left to think about were the resulting friendships in contexts of artistic creation.

For Sismógrafo’s space he has created an installation that could be his Gallery/Café/Workshop/Home, to then invite his friends to come over and have a good time, celebrating their friendships through socializing and activities and actions free of expectation.

A gathering about the importance of friendship as a creative force, as promoter of support and motivation networks. Something we could call economies of friendship in the context of visual arts.

With the participation of Luísa Abreu, Ana Allen, Albert Allgaier, João Alves, Miguel Ângelo, Gonçalo Araújo, Francisco Babo, Linus Barta, Mariana Barrote, Elvin Brandhi, Verónica Calheiros, Edgar Calel, Dário Cannatà, Pedro Cardoso, Susana Chiocca, André Fonseca, Orlando V. Francisco, Veronique Homann, Vitor Israel, Pisitakun Kuantalaeng, Francisco Laranjeira, Rick Lins, Cinthia Mendonça, Lukas Weithas e Manuel Menghin, Andres Montes, Pedro de Sousa Pereira, Patrícia Pescada, Maria José Pinto, Sara Rafael, Nuno Ranha, Selina Reiterer, Stefan Reiterer, Lena Seeberger, Lena Sieder-Semlitsch, Bruno Silva, Silvia Sousa, Svenja Tiger, Andreas Trobollowitsch, Francisco Venâncio and a few more invites, still to be confirmed.

José Oliveira (Braga, 1986) is a visual artist and programmer of independent spaces. Through his artistic practice, he has critically explored their production and valorization modes. In often collective projects, he creates situations that aim to reflect on the nature of the work of art, as well as its modes of exhibiting. His programming work merges with his artistic practice, mutually influencing each other through the concerns and dynamics associated with practices of independent spaces. In his work, he has been building a critical context for the relationship between Art and Labour.