BoCA Biennale presents ‘Coro dos Assombrados’, by Zia Soares, on display tomorrow, September 16th.

BoCA Biennale is supported by the Mais França Program of the Institut Français Portugal, a cultural entity of the French embassy in Portugal, and WAAU is a partner of this same program.

Zia Soares is a Portuguese director and actress, born in Bié, Angola in 1972, having studied Philosophy and Performing Arts at the University of Lisbon. Soares is the first black woman artistic director of a theater company in Portugal and co-founder of the SO WING project. She collaborates with trans and multidisciplinary artists, teaches performing arts workshops, and has been recognized for her representation and influence in Lusophony.

Zia presents ‘Coro dos Assombrados’ as part of Neusa Trovoada’s “CHORUS 1.8 – latente”. The performance features disturbing vocals and reflects on historical silencing and the political and subjective power of the voice. The performance takes place in the mouth, where the protagonist swallows broken skins, bones, shoes, and laments to find herself. The mouth expels salty corals, and after bleeding the salt from the wounds, it falls asleep in the night of sparkling silences. ‘Coro dos Assombrados’ is a poignant exploration of the legacies of trauma, the power of the voice, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. It’s a testament to the importance of remembering, acknowledging, and giving voice to histories and narratives that have been silenced or forgotten.

BoCA, a Lisbon-based non-profit organization, focuses on contemporary creation through a transdisciplinary perspective. It develops a diverse cultural ecosystem through commissioning and producing artistic projects, programming biennials, long-term projects, education programs, and national and international diffusion. BoCA collaborates with various institutions, aiming to support artistic construction in the present and future.

Source: Boca Bienal.