A Sound Place
in Lisbon

The Martim Moniz square is considered one of the most multicultural neighbourhoods of Lisbon (“Expresso” newspaper refers to it as a “neighbourhood that is on travel”). Known for its distinctive faces, costumes, colours and smells, religious sounds that are chanted on the street or in a supermarket, Martim Moniz is a trading venue with two shopping centres almost entirely managed by Chinese, Africans, Arabs, Indians, and Pakistanis. Since 2015, the cultural spaces, galleries and restaurants in the area have attracted other social groups, namely tourists and Lisbon’s upper-middle class. Albeit this strong multiculturality in the area, with culture conceived in its broader sense, including ethnicity but not only (e.g. age, professional activity, etc.), the intermixing between the different resident and non-resident communities is not taking place. 

Activities

A Sound Place will involve the collaborative creation of a cultural soundscape of the Martim Moniz surroundings –the Mouraria neighbourhood–  by collecting residents’ and non-residents’ sonic perceptions and using them as a materials for the creation of music pieces to be played in a live concert (Spot-Place). An installation of videos and photos representing the sounds of the neighbourhood will be part of the activities. The activities will encompass: 

1. In-situ collection of sounds by professionals with experience in soundscape creation 

2. Interviews to representatives of the communities living in and interacting with the place, with regard to their sonic experiences (for example sounds that are “missed” by the immigrants living there or by the elderly people comparing old times with nowadays)

3. Engaging musicians and composers in the creation of musical pieces inspired in different traditions (e.g. jazz, classic, contemporary) using the sounds and voices of people met in Martim Moniz during soundwalks and interviews

4. Producing a “live concert + installation” in the neighbourhood to foster encounters between the various communities by sharing their sonic and visual experiences in the same physical space

5. Identifying similarities and differences in the perception of the same sonic and visual experience (“live concert + installation”) among participants, including the artists themselves, in order to understand how memories and expectations may lead to a different perception of sounds, images, and music. 

Objectives

In accordance with the objectives of the A-Place project, these activities will aim at:

1. Developing and applying creative placemaking practices through the co-production of a live concert and installation with the collaboration of the various communities living or interacting with the place 

2. Creating cross-disciplinary learning spaces and exploiting the potential of networked artistic practices through the interdisciplinary academic and artistic work involved in the creation of a soundscape experience, as well as by transposing the soundscape to other locations, in Portugal and abroad (for example, to other partner cities of the project) 

3. Overcoming social boundaries and fostering community building by fostering interaction between social groups in order to activate the community life in the neighbourhood