LAVRAR O MAR – AS ARTES NO ALTO DA SERRA E NA COSTA VICENTINA is an artistic programming project in the field of performing arts that takes place in Aljezur, Monchique and Odemira, a rural area, with low population density, in the southwest of Portugal.

Using the languages ​​of theatre, dance, new circus and music, we develop interdisciplinary artistic creations that show and reflect the local culture of these territories. In addition to artistic creations and residencies, we host national and international artistic projects and organize artistic laboratories.

The cultural and artistic programming is developed around the binomial performing arts and local culture, with the aim of involving local populations of all ages, Portuguese and foreign, but also travelers and tourists, who, upon arriving in this territory, discover the culture of this place through the arts, its research and practice, seeing the implementation of projects taking place in nature or in built spaces, references of a strong rural culture and identity in this region. At the same time, through a regular and long-term cultural dynamic, of high artistic quality and relevance and that acts in depth, we seek to promote critical thinking and collective reflection on the major issues of the day, offering the public new visions and new proposals to face the challenges of the present and the future, of Portugal and the world.

In addition to its immediate cultural impact, this project has actively contributed to the promotion of cultural diversity, environmental sustainability and the social and economic development of the regions where it operates, asserting itself as an example of how art can be used as a powerful tool for the transformation of communities and territories, especially in rural areas.