From 8 to 10 July, Braga 25 took part in the 14th conference of the European network Culture Next, preparing with its European partners the legacy of the application process for European Capital of Culture, which resulted in the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture that the city is celebrating this year.
The meeting took place in Leeuwarden, which was European Capital of Culture in 2018, with the participation of young people in culture and the arts as its central theme. The epicentre of the programme for the Culture Next meeting was the Bouwurk, a multidisciplinary structure built in the city centre to host the 2025 edition of Arcadia. This 100-day triennial, now in its second edition, is the legacy of the European title in this city in the Netherlands.
The Bouwurk is inspired by a cathedral built on the same site in the 16th century, which ended up being demolished after just over 50 years due to faulty construction. Only the tower (Oldehove) remains from the original project, characterised by its clearly sloping shape, which was the result of the same structural problems. Today it is one of Leeuwarden’s main monuments.
The Dutch city has transformed a failed project into an icon, just as the 40 cities that make up the Culture Next network are proud of the progress they made in their bid to become European Capital of Culture, even though most of them were unsuccessful.
In Braga, the bid to become European Capital of Culture is now an indelible mark, and is clearly visible in the Braga 25 Portuguese Capital of Culture programme. The mission team is building the legacy of this process, calling on the European dimension, cultural democracy and the celebration of artistic creation as fundamental values.
The Culture Next network was created in 2017, bringing together cities that are candidates for European Capital of Culture, current or former, awarded or not, with the mission of supporting the implementation of culture-led urban development programmes and policies.
Braga is one of the founding cities of this network and Joana Meneses Fernandes, executive coordinator of Braga 25 and executive director of Faz Cultura – Empresa Municipal de Cultura de Braga, EM, has been a member of the Culture Next board since the beginning of the year, with a mandate for the next four years.