The Folklore Project - Art and Memory: From Vardø

Synopsis

Peter Zumthor, Louise Bourgeois and Steilneset Memorial

The Auditorium of Fundação PLMJ hosts a gathering around The Folklore Project, a transdisciplinary artistic initiative rooted in Vardø, in the far north of Norway, exploring art, memory and different ways of looking at the past.

The project grew out of Andrea Barros’s research into the interrelationships between architecture and other artistic practices, through the dialogue between Peter Zumthor’s architecture and Louise Bourgeois’s work at Steilneset Memorial. In 2025, this research took on a new dimension with an artistic residency in Vardø, bringing together five women artists and researchers from different fields.

The event opens with a presentation of the project, followed by a conversation between Maggie Wright, Executive Director of The Easton Foundation & Louise Bourgeois Archive, and Nuria Enguita, Artistic Director of MAC/CCB. Drawing on the work and legacy of Louise Bourgeois, the conversation explores the relationships between art, architecture, women and memory.

This will be followed by a screening of the documentary made during the residency in Vardø.

The programme concludes with a conversation between Maggie Wright and sculptor Fernanda Fragateiro, both participants in the artistic residency held in Vardø as part of The Folklore Project. The conversation will be moderated by Cláudia Delgado, who, together with Manuela Wirth, created and develops The Forgotten Her Story, a project dedicated to the memory and legacy of women artists whose work has remained little known or insufficiently recognised.

From Vardø, The Folklore Project brings together different practices and perspectives, exploring the interrelationships between art, architecture and memory and opening up new ways of reading the past and the present.

The conversations will be held in English, and the documentary will be presented mainly in English, with English subtitles.

Please confirm your attendance.