2024 marked the 50th anniversary of 25 April 1974, the revolution that put an end to 40 years of dictatorship in Portugal and opened the doors of democracy to a country immersed in a repressive regime and battered by a prolonged colonial war. Also in 2024, in parliamentary elections with an abstention rate of close to 40 per cent, a populist far-right and openly anti-democratic party was the third most voted force in Portugal, now occupying 25 per cent of the overall parliamentary seats.

What can art do in this context? Against this backdrop, the Portuguese Cultural Center / Camões Berlin organized a prize competition with an open call for young Portuguese artists living in Germany. ‘Art, Freedom and Democracy’ thus brought together works by Bruno de Marco, Clara Bolota, Constança Viegas Martins, Diogo da Cruz and Mathias Gramoso, in this way presenting a series of practices that, in one way or another, outline an array of different strategies aimed at answering this question.