Comédias do Minho 2023
Comédias do Minho is a distinctive territorial initiative that originated in 2003 through the joint efforts of five municipalities in northern Portugal, with the aim to bring theater to small villages.
The guiding principles for structuring the annual program for 2023 and the working methodology were centered around the concepts of desire, emergency, and joy. Emergency, in terms of urgency and immersion, lies at the core of the program’s thematic focus. The entire program draws inspiration from Almada Negreiros’ profound words, “Joy is the most serious thing in life.” As articulated by Magda Henriques in her editorial, “We create alternative images that defy the imagery of catastrophe because ‘This world is pregnant with other worlds that only need our enthusiasm to be born,’ as Eduardo Galeano once poignantly expressed.”
The program is divided horizontally into two distinct parts. The lower third is dedicated to the Alto Minho territory, showcasing the people, places, practices, beliefs, and daily life of the region, with a particular emphasis on its deep-rooted local culture. The upper part of the program focuses on the creative outputs, innovations, actions, and cultural movements that emerge from this rich cultural backdrop.ith these inquiries in mind, I made the deliberate choice to manipulate the chromatic range and disrupt the conventional order in which colors typically appear in printed images. The traditional CMYK color model was replaced with four direct colors, resulting in fresh, quasi-psychedelic interpretations of the Minho territory. Furthermore, I sought to discover new and unexpected encounters through techniques such as overprinting, experimentation, and improvisation with these four colors. The typographic treatment in this program embraces a celebration amidst chaos, expressing the heterogeneous nature of each event and experience.
Texts were created using various typefaces, including Typefesse by Océane Juvin, Söhne (with Söhne Schmal and Söhne Mono) by Klim Type Foundry, Minion by Adobe, and PicNic by Mariel Nils. In addition, there is Megazoid by David Jonathan Ross, OffBit by Power Type, and Anthony by Sun Young Oh. Not shown in the included images are Junicode, Pilowlava by Anton Moglia & Jérémy Landes, FT88, FT88 Gothique and FT88 School by Oriane Charvieux (& Mandy Elbé), as well as ABC Synt Turbo, ABC Diatype, and ABC Gravity by Dinamo.
