Drawing Room Lisboa opens its doors next October 26, directed by Mónica Álvarez Careaga, who selected 26 galleries for this art fair, amongst which 18 are Portuguese. A total of 90 artists, Portuguese and foreign, are being exhibited.

The main focus of this short notice, though, is on the Millennium Talks programme supported by the Millennium bcp Foundation, which returns with new gazes, discourses and investigation threads after the pandemic. The investment in this programme, thus, underlines the importance of discussing art and critical thinking, contradicting the mercantilist perception usually associated with this sector.

Maria do Mar Fazenda is the curator responsible for the Millennium Talks, which follow Richard Serra’s motto, Drawing is a Verb, also in a double homage to the late Lourdes Castro and Paula Rego. In the 2022 edition, the curator brings together Emília Ferreira, Ema M and Júlia Lema Barros to talk about The many lives of Drawing. Examples from an exhibition at the Millennium bcp Gallery at the MNAC; Pedro Calhau, António Bolota, Marco Franco, Maria Ana Vasco Costa, Maja Escher and Vera Nota on The experimental practice of drawing; Francisca Carvalho, Nuno Faria and Rui Sanches who will discuss The presence of drawing at the Carmona e Costa Foundation; and Cristina Robalo and José Luís Porfírio who will show the editorial project Conversations around drawing.

Alongside these talks, Drawing Room Lisboa has also prepared a series of presentations and launchings of books and publications through which art is also exhibited and experienced. These publications have also been a vehicle for thought production in contemporary arts while peeking at the political, cultural and social forces shaking the world. We remember that Umbigo #82 will be launched on October 26, at 8pm.

Full programme here.