Avenida 211

Between 2006 and 2014, 211 Avenida da Liberdade was a hive of artistic activity in the heart of Lisbon. More than forty artists and musicians from different generations established their studios in the building, which also gave rise to and hosted several curatorial projects. At the time, the building was managed by engineer, artist and cultural organiser António Bolota, who, beyond Avenida 211, helped establish several other independent exhibition spaces across Lisbon.

The four floors of the building were open to artists, musicians, and curatorial initiatives, and for nearly a decade they were occupied rent-free, offering a degree of flexibility and autonomy that went far beyond what institutional and commercial models could offer. The building also became a testing ground for interdisciplinary collaborations, especially between visual arts and music, fostering an audience eager for experimentation, diversity, and independent cultural circuits.

Through a “living archive” that brings together artistic proposals, activations and documentation, Avenida 211 revisits the lived experience of the space and the working models that emerged there – whether collaborative, authorial, or intergenerational – whilst reflecting on the very notion of what it means to experience and make art. The exhibition offers a reflection on the essential vibration of art and the ways in which it generates and shares meaning.

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