Blue Summer, a transdisciplinary festival dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary artistic expression in the Algarve, had its first edition in 2011, held over four days in Lagos, with a predominantly national programme. Since then, the festival has grown, expanding to the eastern Algarve, winning over audiences and establishing partnerships with a growing number of agents and institutions.
Standing out as a unique event in the region, Verão Azul has presented theatre, dance, performance, music, cinema and visual arts projects, combining works by both national and foreign artists. This established and recognised path coexists with initiatives by young creators, characterised by a more experimental approach.
In 2018, the festival inaugurated a new cycle, becoming biennial. During the intervening years, it has focused on collaborating with guest artists to further its mission of decentralisation and strengthening relations with local contexts, communities and the artistic fabric of the region. This translates into creative residencies, research laboratories and co-productions, the results of which are presented at each edition of the festival.
Parallel to this, the Blue Summer School is created in 2024. A biennial training programme focused on contemporary arts that takes place in the intervening years of the festival. More geared towards performance – dance, theatre and visual arts – it aims to support training in the areas mentioned, broadening references, following trends and exploring new languages, always in close relation to the past artistic legacy.
It has workshops run by recognised national and international artists that aim to promote new teaching and learning methods, encouraging artistic research and experimentation by addressing contemporary transdisciplinary issues.