D’Improviso is the new Sons da Lusofonia’s project focused in creating innovative tools in order to combat social and artistical exclusion that and which will work through Improvisation as a tool to be ready to take risks on a new attitude and actions towards the communities of its participants.
D'Improviso is setting up jazz laboratories in 5 different off-center neighborhoods in Lisbon with the goal of creatively inspiring new relationships between people and communities by encouraging active citizenship and promoting social togetherness in a hands-on approach.
The methodology will be based on a model of “creative studio”, where people are invited to create together, in order to work on their involvement in projects and to develop personally and artistically their presence in world. These studios will also be open to their communities, underlining the importance of family and friends to arouse new audiences.
Facing the problems caused by the countless social inequalities found in the family, school and urban contexts in Lisbon, D’Improviso will bring to the neighborhoods a sociocultural laboratory that, by exploring the experience of improvised music, will contribute to the construction of an active citizenship through the arts.
In a constantly changing environment, it is essential to know how to improvise without fear and improvise together. The project aims at transposing the paradoxes generated by musicians in real-time improvisation into innovative actions and decisions towards social inclusion and a more democratic coexistence.
Participants will be encouraged to participate in creative musical initiatives such as the Brass & Percussion Orchestra, Portable Art Workshops (OPA), JAZZOPA and also other activities such as Citizenship Workshops and Meetings.
Our activities and programs are going to be multidisciplinary, with practical and theorical approaches, and will be focused on creation and crossing different artistic expressions through the idea of real-time improvisation.
About the project, Carlos Martins, director of Sons da Lusofonia says:
“As people connect to Improvisation, it is our inspiration to promote the democratization that you can naturally observe on a jazz group, without normative hierarchies”.
Sons da Lusofonia (ASL) is a cultural association with a long history and experience in promoting music as a mean of approaching and celebrating cultures. Based in Lisbon, social inclusion has been a priority during the whole 27 years of its existence.
ASL’s main focus is to fuse excellence in performing arts, education, and social work by creating a platform that promotes cooperation and communication between different generations, geo-political backgrounds or cultural heritages. It is actively contributing to artistic and social interventions aware of constant changes and deeply rooted in social creativity with multiple projects promoting cultural diversity.
With vast experience in cultural events and projects, ASL is beginning the year of 2022 working on Festa do Jazzand it’s new project D’Improviso.
Festa do Jazz it’s one of the most important Portuguese jazz festivals in Portugal, that unites together diverse audiences, labels, jazz critics, promotors, professional musicians and jazz students across the country since 2002.
The main goal in Festa do Jazz was to create a common space to come together and debate. Alongside the presentation of new works by established artists, Festa do Jazz has been the main stage for the emergence of new talent. Similarly, the schools’ competition has been fertile in revealing great national talent in the earliest stages of their careers, such as singer Sara Serpa, trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, saxophonists João Mortágua and Ricardo Toscano, and accordionist João Barradas.The close relationship between Festa do Jazz and jazz education in Portugal illustrates how Festa has been a formal response to a growing movement.
In 2022, ASL is celebrating Festa do Jazz’s 20th Anniversary and preparing a unique edition that will take place in Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon in September.
D’Improviso is a new project that ASL is developing that will work through Improvisation as a tool to be ready to take risks on a new attitude and actions towards the communities of its participants. In a constantly changing environment, it is essential to know how to improvise without fear and improvise together. The project aims at transposing the paradoxes generated by musicians in real-time improvisation into innovative actions and decisions towards social inclusion and a more democratic coexistence.
Participants will be encouraged to participate in creative musical initiatives such as the Brass & Percussion Orchestra, Portable Art Workshops (OPA), JAZZOPA and also other activities such as Citizenship Workshops and Meetings.
The project will run untilthe end of 2023 based on social inclusion and we keep upgrading our ongoing projects, including Festa do Jazz and Lisboa Mistura Festival, in order to tackle gender inequality, racism and lack of visibility of cultural diversity in the Portuguese society.
