The participatory session “Milan Sthal – A Place for Connections” will take place on 30 March at the Fundação Oriente – Delegação na Índia, in Goa. The event forms part of the artistic research residency of artist Rui Macedo and curator Inês Valle at the CERA PROJECT.

The session is designed as a space for dialogue around the voyage and arrival of the Portuguese in India, fostering reflection on the impact of this historical encounter and its contemporary repercussions.

It is open to individuals from communities with historical ties to Portugal and India — particularly those connected to the places represented in the twelve Portuguese paintings from the Sala das Descobertas at the Mafra National Palace (Goa, Kozhikode, Ponnani, Kochi and Diu), which disappeared in the 19th century when the Portuguese court relocated to Brazil. The session will encourage participants to share perspectives, memories and narratives of historical, popular and traditional character. Active listening and engagement will contribute to the conceptual development of the project by incorporating historical knowledge and elements of tangible and intangible heritage, while fostering mutual recognition of a shared and plural history.

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This participatory activity, “Milan Sthal – A Place for Connections”, is also part of the restoration and contemporary revalorisation of the Sala das Descobertas, with patronage support from the Millennium bcp Foundation, additional support from the Oriente Foundation – India Delegation, and co-funding from DGArtes – Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Portuguese Republic.