Walk&Talk Azores Festival highlights Creative Tourism at BTL
March 13, 2014
Walk&Talk Azores 2014-the International Festival of Public Art will return from July 18th to August 3rd and it will fill walls, streets and several cultural spaces in the island of Sao Miguel. The program will show several artistic art works by more than 50 national and international creative artists.
This unique artistic festival will be featured in the Azorean representation at the tourism trade fair BTL-Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa, that happens in Lisbon between March 12 to 16th.
Walk & Talk Festival was created in 2011 by the Cultural Interpretation Association Anda & Fala. Since then it has contributed to display the Azores in the international artistic route thanks to the positive impact it had on national and foreign creators that have participated in the three previous editions of the Festival.
A kind of audience that normally wouldn’t see the Azores as a main destination and end up discovering the naturally exotic and authentic context of the island and its people. The artistic residencies stimulate with their participatory model to sharing and co creation, making the invited guests excellent ambassadors for the Festival.
The presence of Walk & Talk Azores Festival at BTL will show the growth of Cultural Tourism in the European market, in particular the emergence of new creative tourists that can be a great opportunity to innovate the touristic offer of the region. The Azores are displayed as an exceptional destination for nature tourism and adding to its natural beauty a cultural dynamic it will enhance the balance, diversity and authenticity that is already innate to it.
“Our presence here proves the relevance of Walk & Talk in the touristic context of the region, it is a strategic sector for the innovation and development of the Azores. The promotion of such a destination combining its natural and artistic values translates into a relevant and sustainable collaboration for both the cultural and tourism sectors,” explains to Jesse James, Creative Director of Walk & Talk Azores Festival.
Instead of a regular stand at BTL, the artwork “Estendal” by Xavier Almeida, displays the participation of Walk & Talk. No visitor will be indifferent to this everyday object transformed into an interactive sculpture - a hanger that will have postcards with photos of artworks from the three previous editions and that can also be visited everyday at the “museum of public art” in Sao Miguel.
The theme of Creative Tourism will also have a special presentation on the first day of the event. “Walk & Talk Azores Festival: case study of creative tourism” will be presented by Jesse James on March 12th, 3:30pm at the Azores Tourism stand located at Pavilion 1. It will present the festival and the 2014 edition that brings innovations like the Walk & Talk Interactive Route app that will show the route to follow public art in Sao Miguel. Joao Pedro Vale and Nuno Alexandre Ferreira are the invited artists to share the experience about their participation in the Festival. They will also be presenting “Rumor," their work that is now a cataloging and artistic route that went viral in the national artistic universe.
Jose Carvalho is another of the artists present at the BTL that will translate, in front of the visitors, an unpublished work of emotions and experiences lived during his stay at the Vale de Furnas, in Sao Miguel. An artistic intervention that is a partnership between the Bensaude Group Hotels and Walk & Talk Festival, with the goal of promoting one of the most emblematic hotel units in the country, the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel.
About the Walk & Talk Azores Festival:
It was created in 2011 and it has contributed to make the Azores as a reference in the international artistic agenda.
Its main goals are to value the Azorean culture, promote the respect for the heritage and artistic education of its people by creating and opening new perspectives and making the streets inhabited spaces-the perfect stage for artistic and cultural sharing;
It is characterized by its bold, collaborative and genuine character that has followed the creation of a living and democratic museum in the island of Sao Miguel, made by more than a hundred public art interventions from national and international artists;
It integrates a dynamic program with artistic residencies, exhibitions, events and a route of live interventions in public spaces, where the creators work in dialogue with the local culture and community;
It has the support of the Azores Government, through the Regional Directorate for Youth and Tourism, the Councils of Ponta Delgada and Ribeira Grande, public and private partners, companies and citizens of the region that offer spaces for the artistic interventions;
About the Association Anda & Fala – Cultural Interpretation:
It is a non-profit cultural association dedicated to the public space and social intervention through art;
It was founded in 2011 by Diana Sousa and Jesse James with the goal of boosting and promoting the Azores by the cultural investment of contemporary artistic expressions that usually aren’t explores in the island and periphery contexts;
It explores its active role in the development of regional creative and cultural industries transforming this sector as a strategic one for the economic development in the Azores;
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