The
illustrations of these questions in 16 window shops on a commercial street were
made by 9º ano (Year 9) students as part of the subject Arts and Philosophy
for Young People. These questions came out of the 10th edition of the Vilamoura International School (CIV) Questions Festival and are now jumping from the
school domain to the community sphere in an exercise of questioning and
provocation, supported by the Municipality of Loulé.
The
Festival takes place at CIV every year, promoted by Philosophy teacher and
facilitator Laurinda Silva, and Librarian Dina Adão, and now takes to the
streets to commemorate its tenth anniversary.
"This
exercise of questioning is a seemingly simple task", says Laurinda Silva.
"Although it materializes only in the production of a sentence - a
question, in this case - it mobilizes integrally the knowledge its author has
in the direction of the other who wishes to have it. This knowledge learned in
school, or out, incorporates a dimension of natural curiosity to uncover the reality and a dimension of attention and care for the world. And, in this
sense, it becomes a political act that originates the construction of the world
the way you want it to be", she adds. "The Questions Festival became
part of the student’s everyday life, creating a particular culture. It's not
rare to hear in the hallways: 'Next year I'll put that question in the
Festival!’ Therefore, adds the facilitator, "When celebrating the 10th
anniversary, we thought it made perfect sense to go out of doors”.
In addition
to illustrating shop windows, the 10th edition of the Questions Festival will
have banners that soon will circulate on Loulé's urban transport network,
“Apanha-me!” (Loulé Concelho Global), with some of the most pertinent questions
from this year’s exercise.
The event
will also lead to a collective exhibition, for which artists with various
expressions have been invited. This exhibition will be held at Vale do Lobo's
Galeria Aderita Artistic Space, in May.
“The 10th
anniversary of the Questions Festival highlights the importance of promoting a
culture of critical thinking, questioning the world, and triggering the
construction of knowledge. The question will always be a driving force, fuelled
by the desire to learn, and a catalyst for independent thinking, resulting in
personal and collective growth. The Questions Festival has made a very
significant contribution to CIV’s systemic educational priorities”, stated Cidália
Ferreira Bicho, CIV's Pedagogical Director.