Portugal
She currently works for the municipalities of Águeda and Aveiro, in Portugal
Paulina Almeida works as a director, curator, instructor and art interpreter in public spaces since 1997. She has presented her works in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Her artistic work focuses on a specific social and political site. Is based on the concepts of “useful” and “participatory” art, investigating the educational character of art in the public space.
She has a master’s degree in Education Sciences, from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto, Portugal where she researched street art since 1960s and its educational dimension. She worked with several international companies, such as La Fura dels Baus, a natural theater company, Grotest Maru, Kumulus, Plasticiens Volants, and in projects and festivals around the world.
She currently works as an artistic director, consultant, programmer and curator for the municipalities of Águeda and Aveiro, in Portugal and directs performances around the world.
Paulina works around themes, objects and materials that emerge from the places where they are presented in the public space. The choreodramaturgies take the necessary form in place through the use of references to art history, local stories of people and the participation of other artists who use language, movement and interaction with the public to provoke experiences.
Since 2006, Paulina develops a continuous research on sustainability, mobility, education, ecology and gender issues in art and dayly life. Their projects merge with each other combining mobile residences, ephemeral shows and education in the public space.
Her goal is to gather them in one, by sea, air and land.
– 2019
Paulina Almeida lives in Oporto She is a director, performer and instructor of physical theater and dance in public space. Studied ballet at the Royal Academy of London (Portugal) and presented her first show with six years old, on Jordão city theater, in Guimarães. Has a jewelery design diploma, was been invited from the European Parliament of Young Artists after finishing her studies in 1996 to direct the inaugural round of performances of the jewelry design exhibition tour in Portugal. Between 1996-99, she attended the TUP Theatre University of Porto and ESMAE Superior School of Music and Performing Arts. During this period she presented several plays, in Portugal, integrating some companies from Porto. In 1998 Paulina was invited by RTP National Radio-Television of Portugal to doble children’s cartoons and co-founded the street theater company Kabong . The company tour all over Portugal and was especially invited from the OPorto tourism office department to represent the city abroad. Between 1999-2001, she specialized in street theater at ACE Academy of Contemporary Performance and joined the official street arts company of the OPorto 2001 European Capital of Culture. In the same year she worked with the companies, La Fura dels Baus (Spain), Kumulus Compagnie (France), Natural Theatre Company (UK) and Friches Theater Urbain (UK / France), among others. In 2002 she taught theater at the Language University of Porto. That year she collaborate with the German Company Grotest Maru in the Festival Lugar à Dança and was invited to join the ensemble, based in Berlin. They created and played several shows in Europe, the United States and Israel, since than until today. In the end of the year she went to Pakistan and Afghanistan to teach dance / theater and stage several shows on what was an intense collaboration with RAWA Association of the Afghan Women. In 2004 Paulina was selected to create the show 8me Merveille a large production from the French company Plasticiens Volants supported by European Community funds for the development of the Mediterranean basin. The spectacle was presented at the Pan-African festival in Algeria and various festivals and France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and England. In 2008 she collaborated with the Peking Opera and Plasticiens Volats in Chongqing, China and is still a guest performer from the Ensemble. In the summer of 2008 she was selected by the ISTA International School of Theater Anthropology in Denmark, to develop her anthropological theater studies. She participated at the performance The Mariage of Medea a collaboration between the National Balinese Ensemble and Odin Theatret and was directed by Eugenio Barba. Since then she has been presenting her work both individually and in collaboration with other companies, artists, organizations and institutions, festivals, theaters, public spaces and unconventional, in Europe, Asia, America and Africa. In her way we regard the openings of Gala Nova Era Radio at the Crystal Palace in Porto, the XXI World Congress of Architecture in Berlin and the world Puppet festival in Charleville Mézières, France, the co-direction of the show “Meu coração Viagem” from the Danish company Odin Theatret and “Feliz Idade” by CCTAR Centre of Creation for Theatre and Street Arts, Portugal under the International Festival of Street Theatre_Imaginarius. In 2011, she joined the creation of the 12th Anniversary of the Annexation of Macao to China a celebration performance in Macau, the Paris Parade in Santiago of Chile and played Pier Paolo Pasolini at La MaMa Experimental Theatre from New York, at the Pergola theater in Florence. She was also invited by the French-German forum of Young Artists to represent Germany as artistic adviser in the tri-annual inter-cultural workshop, which involves cultural managers and artists from France, Germany and Egypt, with presentations Marseille (France), Leipzig (Germany) and Alexandria (Egypt) in 2012. She was invited to direct the street performance at Contemporary Art Performance Academy involving all the art departments integrated in the Manobras do Porto a 2 years contemporary art festival about people, ideas an territory. She was a gest performer at the 50th Anniversary of Kuwait Independence and will conduct a physical theater in public space workshop in Germany and travel to California (US) to research. In 2013 she was awarded an artist residency for one year in the Palace of Arts, provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Youth and drove to the event commemorating the 250th anniversary of the creation of the Tower of Clérigos from Nicholas Nazoni organized by the Municipality of Porto. She was invited by the Palestinian Freedom Theater to integrate as costume designer it´s latest production, and by Cinema Jenin to direct Peter Pan in Jenin. The International Festival de la Nuit Les tombes in Rennes invited her to create and implement a new creation in sito, supported by European Union for the development of interculturality, involving young artists from Poland, France and Germany, totaling 150 participants. Directed the opening of Axa Building a co–production with Porto Lazer and the opening of Oliva Creative Factory. Co-produced the project Cargotopia with FIIIIMP International Festival in Yucatan Mexico. Is actualy co-directing the project Republica Tanguera for the Quebec city dance festival in Canada. In 2014, she co–direct the project if this were my street workshop on Performance at Imaginarius in Portugal Festival and Festival Sztuka Ulicy in Poland and Windows multidisciplinary spectacle in Palestine. Finished MA in Education sciences, at the Psychology and Science Education University of Porto.
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September-October 2016
