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Jardins do Bombarda

Rua Gomes Freire 161, 1150-176 Lisboa

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Inauguration → 10 . 10 . 2025 → 06:00 pm

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11 . 10 . 2025 → 08 . 11 . 2026

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tuesday — wednesday — thursday - sunday → 10:00 am – 10:00 pm

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friday — saturday — holiday eve → 10:00 am – 12:00 am

Artist

Ricardo Bento

The Greek word orkhéstra originally means “the place where one dances.” In ancient Greek artistic performances, it was the central space where musicians, dancers, actors, and audiences came together to celebrate the myriad ways in which life could be expressed. It can be considered one of the central nodes of artistic celebration, of individual uniqueness, and of the democratic horizontality of social status— allowing all participating citizens, regardless of their social roles, access to the stage.

In this work, I focused on a similar network of relations, exploring the musical trajectories of young musicians who began their musical education in the Orquestra Geração (OG, Generation Orchestra) and are now transitioning into adulthood. This collective musical education project includes children and youth from the poorest urban peripheries of Lisbon—populations exposed to systemic injustice, social inequality, xenophobia, and racism. I tried to follow the multiple networks and relationships these young people develop, both within the internal structures of OG and across the different musical experiences that arise from their desire for creative freedom and social autonomy.

Coming from different class backgrounds, genders, and cultures, these young musicians, who began their education in an orchestral setting, open themselves to the streets of the city through various types of performance. I analyze these performances which, beyond shaping their multiple and diverse musical paths, contribute to the consolidation of the urban and peri-urban territories they traverse and inhabit through their practice.

Experiencing the daily lives of these young musicians, learning their biographies, tracing their musical journeys and the circuits they engage in, has allowed me to observe the places they live, listen to their aspirations, and reflect on the dynamics of youth citizenship they are collectively constructing, bearing witness to their wish to take an active role in transforming the contemporary processes of artistic and cultural democratization.