Open Cinema

Open Cinema was a collaboration between an artist and an architect. It was originally designed by architect Colin Fournier as a temporary structure for the town of Guimarães, the European Cultural Capital 2012. The project was a homage to the politically radical cinema culture championed by the local CineClube as well as to the town’s manufacturing past. It was free to the public, encouraging social participation, generosity and openness. Its new edition specially adapted as an Associated Project of the Close Closer 2013 Lisbon Architecture Triennale has been located in the Praça Europa, Cais do Sodré, a new public square on the bank of the river Tejo.

The 18 minute long film programme for Lisbon emerges out of my research responding to the main themes of the Triennale as well as the history and architectural heritage of the city. It draws upon archive material dating back to the early 1900s, sourced from the public domain films of the Cinemateca Portugesa. Concentrating on the role of a public square as a site of celebration, conviviality and dissent, the narrative of this newly edited footage is organised in 4 distinct sections punctuated by images of a beating drum. As we travel through the city of Lisbon we encounter the ghost figures participating in the civic events taking place between 1900 and 1931. They return our gaze, demonstrating a clear awarness of the camera apparatus. Lines of connection and dialogue are being established through the act of looking in which we as spectators are implicated both imaginatively and actually. A specially commissioned soundtrack by Open Music Archive provides a richly textured musical score based on out-of-copyright material originating from the same era.

Read more about the work on artist Marysia Lewandonwska’s website

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