LACRE 2024

In the recent history of queer art, the participation of black people is almost non-existent. LACRE - Cuír Art and Resistance Laboratory is an innovative project of artistic and political resistance that seeks to highlight this absence by promoting art made by black and queer people, in order to debate this issue and also create a kind of cartographic pedagogy that gives visibility to this theme in Portugal.

Through its proposals, LACRE seeks to produce a new epistemology of the queer concept by proposing an artistic endeavour that considers the urgency of manifesting this type of art and also the latent need to ensure that the production of black and queer artists is manifested equally on the Portuguese scene.

The word ‘cuír’, used in this project, is a neologism of resistance. It invokes in itself the will to autonomise black queer identities in the production of their own artistic agenda. By prioritising these proposals, the project stands out for its social relevance and its original ability to positively impact the community and the arts scene in a significant way. In this way, the project provides scenarios of symbolic and physical restitution in relation to the historical social disparities within the arts sector.

LACRE is a transdisciplinary project that brings together black queer artists from various backgrounds working in Portugal to reflect on and produce art about the critical dimensions of art. LACRE has a fundamental component in improving the qualifications of professionals and institutions linked to culture and art about the relationship between blackness and gender identities, and is based on promoting a greater ethnic and cultural diversity of black queer artists in the Portuguese social fabric. It is an anti-racist and intra-industrial project in that it seeks to overcome the structural consequences that have contributed to increasing social inequalities in terms of representation and work opportunities for this group of people.

— Coletivo Afrontosas


After a first edition in 2023, LACRE returns from 2 to 14 September 2024. Between Espaço Alkantara and the Goethe-Institut Portugal, this second edition presents a tripartite programme:

- Two mediation and reflection workshops, hosted by the Goethe-Institut Portugal. On 5 September, David J. Amado introduces us to Afro-Jazz, a mix of modern and classical dance techniques; and on 12 September, Joyce Sousa proposes Aquilombamento e identidade - Dramaturgias e intervenções possíveis, in which she explores the expanded concept of quilombo developed by Beatriz Nascimento. The participation in the workshops is free, subject to registration. These workshops are conducted in Portuguese.

- Two artist residencies at Espaço Alkantara, mentored by ROD, tony omolu and DIDI. From 2 to 7 September, we'll be welcoming Luan Okun to the studio, and from 9 to 14 September, Noé João.

- Two moments of public presentation, the result of the residencies. Luan Okun presents Seja Bem Vinde and Noé João shows Cinzas do Vulto. Free entry.


LACRE is a project funded by DGArtes - Ministério da Cultura. It is produced by Coletivo Afrontosas, co-produced by Alkantara and the Goethe-Institut Portugal. Contemporânea, Dezanove, Bantumem and Buala are the media partners of this second edition.

About Coletivo Afrontosas

Coletivo Afrontosas is a cultural association that was born out of meetings of black/racialised cuír people linked to the world of the arts, education and celebration, motivated by the absence of projects that reflect on the importance of the black cuír diaspora in Portugal in confluence with migratory transits from Latin America, Africa and other regions.

One of Afrontosas' objectives is to foster, promote and disseminate the artistic and educational production of black/racialised Cuír artists in order to create intersectional spaces for debate and dialogue between cultural agents at national and international level.

The collective works in five areas - Art and Research; Hosting and Ancestry; Consultancy and Teaching; Culture and Celebration and Lifestyle and Fashion Design - fighting structural racism in the art sector in order to make the artistic field in Portugal more diverse in terms of representation and diversity.