As a collective, we constantly question the way young people and adults think about society. Through art, we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to intervene as a member of a collective in the face of conceptions of extreme importance for social evolution. And it all started out as an idea by a mother and a father… We always wanted to interact constructively with our children’s school. We have never lacked the courage to try and change what surrounds us and what, in our view, can and should improve!

 

In Group 23: silêncio! we never forget how important it is to not be in a hurry. In today’s education system, there is no room for debate and experimentation without a measurable goal. There is no time for learning how to think, for improvising and for talking about urgent matters and worrying phenomena in our society, such as: homophobia, racism, gender-related issues, and many other forms of discrimination. We also believe that contact with arts and artists from a very early age opens minds, stimulates alternative ways of thinking about the world, shapes personalities, and should be MANDATORY in schools!

 

With our work, we wanted to provide young people with a strong artistic experience, to make them all feel free to discover their passions, hence becoming less prejudiced people, more confident and open to the world. We find ourselves at a moment of regression in our Histories, faced as we are with racism, fascism, and many other terrible isms, all of which must be tackled by a global education. Education is the foundation of any society and, as such, it is during childhood that one should begin to experience and to question the world around them.

Sílvia Real