CMT’s artistic work has become increasingly aligned with an educational approach that seeks the essence of what makes us human, and with an ecological stance that seeks to raise awareness of the need for environmental preservation. Much has been said about the so-called “climate emergency”. Perhaps we should also trigger an “empathic emergency”. And perhaps these two “emergencies” correspond to the same need to care: caring for the planet where we live; caring for the human beings who inhabit it. It is increasingly important to draw attention to the need to preserve the world we live in and there are many ways to do so. Teaching how to look and listen in a poetic way is certainly something that is needed and should be promoted from early childhood.
The Mil Pássaros constellation articulates artistic creation, training and community involvement through a set of artistic-educational experiences of different nature in which listening to the “voice” of birds is encouraged. In this way, we seek to help people become aware of the fragility of the planet we live on and raise awareness of the need to take care of it. Mil Pássaros launches the appeal to “listen to the birds”, as a metaphor for joining the community in caring for the environment and hoping to listen to each other better. Mil Pássaros promotes musical and artistic experiences bringing families and daycare centers / kindergartens / schools into dialogue, raising awareness of listening to the soundscape and the inner self. It is a “kaleidoscopic” and “complex” project, adapted to the contexts where it is developed. In 2024 Mil Pássaros will be developed in Coimbra and Fundão, with a common identity and autonomous paths. It will also be part of CMT´s participation in SenseSquared, the Erasmus+ (KA2) Project we are developing with partners from Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Norway.
Mil Pássaros in Coimbra is aimed at the entire public pre-school education community in the municipality and involves the articulation between several council departments: Education, Culture and the Convento de São Francisco. The project will be developed throughout the 1st semester of 2024 and involves activities in the kindergartens and a regular presence at Convento São Francisco. It includes actions such as: II Encontro Arte-Ambiente: Mil Pássaros, training t.Lab Mil Pássaros and Canto dos Pássaros / Musicalidade Comunicativa na Educação de Infância, at Convento de S. Francisco, o Gabinete do Pássaro, online, Oficina dos Pássaros and PaPI-Opus 8 at the kindergartens and the final installation, Mil Pássaros, at Convento São Francisco.
Mil Pássaros at Fundão will be developed between entre January and April, involving kindergarten and primary schools from the municipality of Fundão, with the mediation of Moagem. The project includes the training sessions t.Lab Mil Pássaros, at Casino Fundanense, Gabinete do Pássaro, online, the presentation of PaPI-Opus 8 at the schools involved in the project and the final installation, Mil Pássaros, at Moagem, Cidade do Engenho e das Artes.
Thousand Birds is the designation given to the activities led by CMT at SenseSquared. In a initial stage (December and January) it includes online training, z.Lab and the presentation of Opus 8.z. Later (April, May) the workshops Imaginary Birds will take place in Belgium (Musica, Neerpelt), as well as the final installation (Tabloo, Dessel)
