2019 | 1st Edition

Caldas 77 - IV Encontros Internacionais de Arte em Portugal/4eme Rencontres Internacionales D'Art au Portugal.

David-Alexandre Gueniot

ArchiveCaldas da RainhaHistorical Research

In August 1977, the peaceful city of Caldas da Rainha hosted the International Art Meetings in Portugal, with the participation of more than 120 national and international artists, over 12 days of exhibitions, debates, concerts, shows and performances. The objectives are clear: to decentralize culture by taking it to peripheral cities and – in a revolutionary gesture – to share with local populations the benefits of freedom of expression. But, on the last day, rumors trigger violent reactions from the public; several works of art are vandalized and some artists are attacked. This publication aims to better understand the programming of these Meetings and expose local and national mentalities in the face of the implantation of contemporaneity in Portugal, after the 25th of April 1974. (source: https://ghost.pt/Caldas-77- 1)