Culturgest is the Foundation of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), a bank owned by the Portuguese State. It functions as an international art centre situated in Lisbon, which offers a regular programme dedicated to contemporary creation - both Portuguese and international – in the fields of theatre, dance, music, cinema and the visual arts. Culturgest also has an educational programme in all of these areas, aimed at audiences of all ages and social and cultural backgrounds. Culturgest reaches a wide and diversified audience, and invests in initiatives that seek to enhance a profound relationship with the art works and projects it presents. 
For a long time Culturgest has been developing a line of programming aimed at addressing pressing environmental issues, such as climate change and social transition. Indeed, a vast number of Portuguese and international artists and scientists working in the domains of ecology and sustainability have shared their work and research at Culturgest.

 Since 2020, Culturgest is the Lead Partner of the European cooperation project ACT – Art, Climate, Transition, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

It is part of Culturgest’s mission to develop cultural activities not only at its main premises in Lisbon, but all over the country. Culturgest has been doing this for over a decade, through the organisation of exhibitions in Porto and in other main cities. In Portugal, the offer of cultural activities and events has traditionally been concentrated in the three major cities (Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra), but has slowly spread out to the other districts. Still, the rural areas have been largely left out of this development. 

For Culturgest, Performing Landscape will be an extended exercise on how to develop collaborative cultural projects within the rural context and is hoped to yield valuable insights for future projects.

A second point of interest is to demonstrate and investigate the strong and manifold links that exist between a large city and hits hinterland. City dwellers are easily under the impression that their city functions on its own, but in reality the opposite is true. Without the many connections with the rural areas surrounding it, a city would quickly run out of the most basic things, such as food or drinking water. Performing Landscape is meant to bring to the front some of the dynamic interactions that structure the relationship between the city and the countryside.

Performing Landscape will be developed at the Setúbal Península. The Setúbal Peninsula covers an area of 1,421 km² and comprises nine municipalities, where 782,044 people live. From the Arrábida Natural Park, to the Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve. From Setúbal, to Sesimbra. From Moita, to Palmela, Alcochete and Montijo. 

There are kilometres of natural, architectural and gastronomic treasures that make up one of the richest regions of Portugal. The Setúbal Peninsula has two types of landscapes. One is characterized by hills with vineyards planted in clayey-limestone soils, between 100 and 500 meters above sea level, taking advantage of the slopes of Serra da Arrábida, which offer protection from the Atlantic Ocean. 

The other landscape typology, which represents about 80% of the region's total area, covers flat lands or with gentle undulations, rarely exceeding 150 meters in height. We’re currently investigating possible locations and will have more information available soon.