The programme for the first three months includes names such as Kim Gordon, Kathryn Joseph, Tiago Rodrigues, Kara-Lis Coverdale, among many other shows, participatory actions and exhibitions.
On 25 January, at the inauguration of the Portuguese Capital of Culture, Mariza, Dino d’Santiago, iolanda and various artistic collectives from Braga will put on a unique show.
Braga 25 Portuguese Capital of Culture officially opens on 25 January, but it begins to reveal itself a week earlier. On 18 January, ‘Object Of Projection’ opens, the first exhibition in Portugal by Kim Gordon, co-founder of the New York band Sonic Youth. This is a retrospective of the artist’s work over the last decade, with special emphasis on her growing series of performative video installations. It is on show until 5 April at gnration.
‘Object Of Projection‘ is a proposal from Cinex, Braga 25’s expanded cinema programming line, which is another highlight of the event’s 1st quarter. On 15 March (Theatro Circo), Kathryn Joseph presents the result of a commission from the Portuguese Capital of Culture: the composition and interpretation of a soundtrack for the timeless German cinema classic ‘Faust’, by F.W. Murnau.
Also in January, starting on the 29th, the Square festival departs from Braga to involve the other municipalities of the Urban Quadrilateral (Barcelos, Guimarães, Vila Nova de Famalicão) in a programme that crosses the region’s music scenes with emerging artists from Portugal and the countries on the Atlantic coast, with the aim of cementing the creation and export potential of the independent music sector.
At the end of March (29), another Braga 25 exhibition will open. Contra-Quiosque spreads across different parts of the city, revisiting and rehabilitating five disused kiosks, which will be transformed into exhibition spaces. The results of the artist residencies that Emilia Rigová, Hilda de Paulo, Maria Trabulo, Marta Machado and Miguel Teodoro are carrying out in Braga with private collections and institutional archives of communities that are less represented in the city’s history will be shown there.
Travelling on Braga Urban Transport buses could be a surprise in 2025. The Connecting Commutes programme has designed artistic sound installations specifically for these vehicles, which will circulate throughout the municipality of Braga from the end of March. The first proposals of the year include works by the radio art collective Mobile Radio (UK), the Brazilian experimental music duo Guache and students from the University of Minho.
As part of the Supracasa creative support programme, ‘O Duelo e Outras Histórias’ (The Duel and Other Stories), a show by Joana Providência and Teatro do Bolhão for children and young people (14 and 15 March) and ‘Hide to Seek’ (22 March), a new creation by choreographer Júlio Cerdeira, will be presented in the first quarter of Braga 25. Both shows take place at Theatro Circo.
Also in March (15 to 28), the Tibães Monastery hosts a special edition of the Braga em Risco illustration festival, which this year, in connection with the Portuguese Capital of Culture, combines drawing with stories, tales and legends.
Braga receives the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture on 25 January, at a ceremony that will take place at Theatro Circo (11:00). At the end of this formal moment, ‘Quimera’ will be premiered, a show that unites the visions of choreographers Filipa Francisco and Deeogo Oliveira, playwright Regina Guimarães and director John Romão. The piece offers a hypnotic experience that combines folkloric groups from Braga with breakdance.
Two other Braga 25 commissions will be presented that day. At 5pm, the Grupo de Cantares de Mulheres do Minho & the Conservatório de Música Calouste Gulbenkian de Braga meet; at 6.30pm, Canadian composer Kara-Lis Coverdale presents the result of an artistic residency at the pipe organ of the Basílica dos Congregados, where she will combine her reverence for this instrument with the sonic explorations that are more typical of electronic music, which is also her territory.
The Braga 25 Opening Programme runs throughout January 25, anticipating the diversity of artistic proposals that will be presented throughout the year. The opening day culminates with a large multidisciplinary show on Avenida Central (21:00) featuring Mariza, Dino d’Santiago, iolanda and various artistic collectives from Braga.
Braga 25’s agenda for the 1st quarter also includes shows from the regular programme of Theatro Circo and gnration, which had already been announced at the end of the year. Tiago Rodrigues (No Yogurt For The Dead, with performances on 27 and 28 February), Panda Bear (21 March) and Mário Laginha (21 February) will perform at Theatro Circo, celebrating the legacy of Carlos Paredes.
The centenary of the Portuguese guitar master is also being marked at the gnration with a concert featuring Six Organs Of Admittance and Norberto Lobo (14 February). Griot 3000 (22 February) and Tashi Wada (1 March) will also play at the Braga venue.
The Braga 25 Portuguese Capital of Culture programme is the result of a collaboration between the Municipality of Braga and Faz Cultura – Empresa Municipal de Cultura de Braga. Many of the projects around which the event’s programme is structured are the result of the application process for European Capital of Culture 2027, to which is added the reinforced programming of the city’s main cultural venues, Theatro Circo and gnration, as well as the different initiatives promoted and supported by the Municipality of Braga throughout the year.
You can download here the programme for the first quarter.