The main theme of this project is the civic and political participation of youth in contemporary Portugal. It’s financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), between 2018 and 2021. We propose to explore how different youth protagonists, individually or collectively, engaged in different social, cultural and political causes, use certain resources and creative grammars as a form of political expression and participation in the public sphere – what we call the “Arts of Citizenship”. In the face of the crisis of democracy and disenchantment with institutional politics, the “Arts of Citizenship” are practices and languages (street art, rap, digital activism, culture jamming, guerrilla theatre, etc.) that emerge within youth communities as means of expression, engagement and survival, that are familiar and meaningful to young people and that are able to bring new vigour to their civic and political participation. This exploration, we believe, will contribute significantly to strengthen an emerging line of research that seeks to explore the role of culture and art as central elements for political action, as well as the ever-greater convergence between art and activism.

This project intends to contribute to the reevaluation of public participation of youth, by focusing on nontraditional forms of political/civic engagement, through creative and artistic practices. “ArtCitizenship” has a central research question: To what extent and how can creativity and aesthetic practices contribute towards a new and effective political and civic agency of Portuguese youth in the defense of certain minority, alternative and/or disruptive causes? This central research question is equally accompanied by the following pivotal questions: a) To what extent creative practices serve to broaden the notion of politics through alternative and non-institutional channels?; B) What practices, aesthetic products, and cultural circuits are used in communication, reflection, contestation or resistance processes in the field of youth activism? C) What role and what impact have creativity and artistic expression in the empowerment of youth and in the construction of a sense of belonging to a political community? D) How contemporary activism is redefined, taking into account a series of changes in: (a) their discourses, grammars and communication strategies, (b) their territories / stages (street and internet) and their intersections? From the methodological point of view, the project adopts a qualitative approach, of ethnographic inspiration. This involves a multi-sited ethnography, with participant observation, in-depth interviews and the application of visual methodologies. We will also use more innovative models integrating participative methodologies and the realization of workshops and artistic residences with young people. Thus, in addition to a more conventional approach, based on observation, data collection and analysis, we will combine participatory action-research processes.