Fome de Bola | 7 & 8 february, FC Gulbenkian, Lisbon

On February 7 and 8, Fome de Bola travels to Isto é PARTIS & Art for Change at the Gulbenkian Modern Art Center in Lisbon.

Over two years of meetings with a group of young people from Porto’s Eastern Zone, we intertwined our bodies with sound, image, and writing, reflecting on the political and social aspects of futsal—what it means to be a team, what it means to lose a game, or to support someone who scored an own goal. We dramaturgically analyzed motivational locker-room speeches and created music that symbolizes the emotions of those on the field. Along the way, we talked about the places we live in and about what had just happened to us on our way to our meetings, among many other things… We created a “FOME DE BOLA” (Hunger for Football)!

What is it that makes our hearts race when we see a ball cross the goal line? What does Oliver and Benji have to do with housing prices in Porto? And when will we stop being afraid of the ball?

This performance is part of VIRAL, a project aimed at young people aged 16 to 29 living in social housing in the Campanhã district. Recognizing education and training as essential factors for active and informed citizenship—and the need to create spaces where these young people can express their multiple identities—the project proposes an artistic approach using new media, which are already familiar to this age group. By merging digital media with body movement, photography, sound, and writing, the initiative encourages reflection on the spaces of their daily lives, whether virtual or physical, through training workshops, collective creation, and public presentations.

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