This will be the focus of the return of the INDEX biennial to Braga, from 7 to 17 May 2026, proposing a broad reflection on the multiple relationships between Power, Art and Technology, manifested through a diverse programme comprising performances, conferences, an exhibition and educational activities, which will take place across various venues in the city.

INDEX is an initiative by Braga Media Arts that aims to explore the relationships between art and technology, promoting dialogue and reflection on emerging issues in these fields. It forms part of Braga’s action plan as a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, with the support of Braga City Council and promoted by the municipal company Faz Cultura.

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Full programme and further information about INDEX 2026 available at www.indexmediaarts.com

O conteúdo INDEX 2026 – Biennial of Art and Technology aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

Envisioned by a group of Braga residents in 1906, it opened its doors on 21 April 1915, becoming a meeting place for the population — among themselves, with art and with the world. Today, Theatro Circo is more than just a building — it is a living platform for creation, experimentation and celebration.

To mark this celebration, between 17 and 24 April, this century-old theatre will host a series of artistic events ranging from music to theatre and dance, as well as activities for children and young people.

Full programme

CAPRA – or how to say hello to fear · Roxana Ionesco
17 Apr · 9.30 p.m. · Small Auditorium

Dream Stories · Aqui há Gato Bookshop
18 Apr · 10 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. · Main Hall

Theatro Circo’s guided tour
18 Apr · 11 a.m. (Portuguese) and 12 p.m. (English)

Elisabete Matos, Maciej Pikulski and Pedro Ribeiro · Feminine Dreamlike: Your gaze upon me
18 Apr · 9:30 p.m. · Main Hall

Tortoise
19 Apr · 9:30 p.m. · Main Hall

A Garota Não · The Extraordinary Vulgar Woman
21 April · 9.30pm · Main Hall

In the shadow of official reports · Nina Laisné
22 April · 6.30pm · Small Auditorium

Como una baguala oscura · Nina Laisné & Néstor Pola Pastorive
24 April · 9.30pm · Main Hall

O conteúdo 111th Anniversary of Theatro Circo aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

Aimed at an audience aged between 8 and 14, this workshop begins with theatrical games and dramatic expression exercises led by director Nídia Roque, with the aim of stimulating and challenging creativity and critical thinking. Through the body, movement and listening, these experiences become inspiration for the next stage: the creation of a mobile, under the guidance of set designer Ângela Rocha.

O conteúdo Theatre workshop: Infinite Paradises aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

The first edition, in 2023, featured three conferences, designed to reflect on the journey of the National Odyssey, which began that same year with the start of the theatre renovation project in Rossio.

This year, the focus turns to the Portuguese Capital of Culture initiative, created by the Portuguese Government, which includes the other two cities finalists for the European Capital of Culture 2027, Aveiro and Ponta Delgada. Artists, thinkers and the public are invited to learn about and discuss how Braga has interpreted this project, with a programme that celebrates the dialogue between national artistic creation and the possibilities of connection with Europe.

Cenários 2025 also proposes a reflection on the diagnoses and perspectives resulting from the two-year journey begun in January 2023 by the D. Maria II National Theatre, while also observing other fundamental issues for the future of art and culture in Portugal.

The participation in Cenários requires prior registration here.

Full programme

27 Nov

10:30 a.m. · Theatro Circo (Small Auditorium) · Session with LGP
Opening session
with João Rodrigues (Mayor, Braga City Council), Rui Catarino (Chairman of the Board of Directors, National Theatre D. Maria II), Joana Fernandes (Board of Directors, Faz Cultura)

11:30 a.m. · Theatro Circo (Small Auditorium) · Session with LGP
Braga, Portuguese Capital of Culture | Debate
with Cristina Farinha (Cultural Policy Expert), Daniel Pereira and Fernando Ferreira (Space Transcribers) and José Alberto Ferreira (Representative of Évora’27 – European Capital of Culture) | moderated by Rui Catarino

2:30 p.m. · gnration (blackbox) · Session with LGP
National Odyssey | Debate
with Cátia Terrinca (Artistic Director UMCOLETIVO), Fátima Alçada (General and Artistic Director, Comédias do Minho), Luís Sousa Ferreira (Assistant Artistic Director, National Theatre D. Maria II), Patrícia Silva Santos (Evaluation and Monitoring, National Theatre D. Maria II) | moderated by Joana Fernandes

4:30 p.m. · gnration (blackbox) · Session with LGP
National Culture | Debate
with Ana Feijó da Cunha (Director “la Caixa” Foundation), Mónica Guerreiro (Artistic Director, Ponto C), Sara Barros Leitão (Actress, Stage Director and Artistic Director of Cassandra) | moderated by Elisabete Paiva

6:30 p.m. · Braga Municipal Market · Session with LGP
Participatory Processes | Talk
with Catarina Carvalho Gomes (Artist), Marta Moreira (Artistic Director, Plataforma do Pandemónio), Lara Soares and Sandra Barros (Artists, Burilar) | activation by Hugo Cruz

28 Nov

9:30 a.m. · gnration (sala multiusos) · Session for schools
Youth Forum | Round tables
coordination by 4IS – Association for Social Innovation (Claire Sivier, Diana Lima, João Rosa and Tiago Castro)

10:30 a.m. · Theatro Circo (Grand Hall) · Session for cultural agents
Create, Programme, Mediate* – Meeting to think about cultural activities
activation by PELE (Maria João Mota and Lucelina Rosa)

*Activity exclusively dedicated to cultural agents from the North of Portugal.

2:30pm · gnration (blackbox) · Session with LGP
Territorial Equity | Debate
with Samuel Guimarães (Cultural Mediator), Rafaela Santos (Co-founder of Amarelo Silvestre) | moderated by Samuel Silva

4:30pm · gnration (blackbox) · Session with LGP
Art and Technology | Debate
with Carincur and João Pedro Fonseca (Artists, ZABRA), Manuel Bogalheiro (Researcher and Professor), Tatiana Macedo (Artist) | moderated by Luís Fernandes

6:30pm · gnration (blackbox) · The presentation session preceding the screening will be interpreted in LGP
Mapping the meeting | Documentary

9:30 p.m. · Theatro Circo (Main Hall)
The Secret Life of Old People, by Mohamed El Khatib

10:30 p.m. · Sé La Vie
Ponto de Encontro (Closing session)

O conteúdo Cenários – Teatro Nacional D. Maria II aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

Braga bids farewell to an intense year in which it opened the door to the Portuguese Capital of Culture with the promise of not letting it close. The show that officially marks the end of Braga 25 is not a closing ceremony, but a moment to celebrate a journey that will continue to leave a legacy in the city. It will also be a moment to pass the baton to Ponta Delgada, the next city to receive the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture, awarded by the Portuguese Government. On the stage of the Theatro Circo, artists from both cities will engage in dialogue, combining the rich traditions of Minho and the Azores with the contemporary languages explored in both territories, in a celebration of national creativity that promises to continue to leave a lasting impression on an unforgettable year.

The show Entre Pedra e Bruma (Between Stone and Mist), inspired by the legends and traditions of Braga and Ponta Delgada, proposes a dialogue between solidity and fluidity, between tradition and imagination. Faith and memory echo in the stone; in the mist, the breath of mystery and emotions that fade away in time. On stage, movement inhabits this liminal space, creating images that emerge and dissolve like apparitions. It is in this interval — between what rises and what fades away — that the possibility of encounter, transformation and shared memory is revealed: a poetic tribute to the legacy of each city.

O conteúdo Closing Ceremony Braga 25 Portuguese Capital of Culture aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

O conteúdo Theatro Circo and gnration anniversaries aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

Square – Mapping the Atlantic is a gathering and celebration of independent music from the continents bathed by the Atlantic Ocean. With a program coordinated by Lovers and Lollypos, this is a festival that connects bands, artists, professionals and audiences in a celebration of diversity, creating a space for emerging artists and new trends in music from these diverse territories.

O conteúdo Square: Mapping the Atlantic aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

The Portuguese government has awarded Braga the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture for 2025. The baton is officially handed over to the city at the Theatro Circo, in the presence of national and local authorities. The ceremony will be conducted by the actress Margarida Vila Nova and will include the participation of Geração B25+, a group of young people who have been advising the Braga 25 project since the application phase for European Capital of Culture.
Braga 25’s opening program extends throughout January 25, with proposals that will occupy various spaces and some of the city’s main squares, but it is in the centenary main hall of the Theatro Circo that the year in which Braga is the Portuguese Capital of Culture is formally inaugurated.

Capacity limited to 200 people  

O conteúdo Braga 25 Portuguese Capital of Culture opening aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.

Thinking of the lusophone artistic universe as one of the most influential artistic forces of recent years in Portugal, PARAÍSO aims to give stage to new creations that reward reflection on our past, with an impact on the present day and that demonstrate the diversity and richness of the lusophone arts. In the year commemorating the centenary of Amílcar Cabral’s birth, PARAÍSO invites a range of artists from a variety of artistic fields – from literature to contemporary dance, from music to performance – offering shows and talks that reflect themes linked to the history of the black movement in Portugal, the life and work of Amílcar Cabral, and innovation and tradition in Lusophone music. We want to bring our audience closer together and invite new ones, so that together we can give primacy to the new artistic expressions of lusophony.   

In this new edition, PARAÍSO inhabits Theatro Circo and gnration and, for the first time, takes place outside the doors at Livraria Centésima Página. 

Curated by Nuno Abreu 

O conteúdo PARAÍSO aparece primeiro em Theatro Circo.