Paper short abstract:

In the Portuguese visual arts we can observe a strengthening of debate about the nation, where some features of Portuguese folk culture are convoked. This paper explores the network of intentionalities that underlies this tendency of Portuguese contemporary art.

Paper long abstract:

In the contemporary world, arts play a very important role in the reconfiguration of local, national and diasporic identities, objectifies power, ideologies and world visions. In the context of globalization, artistic practices appear to vacillate between national visuality and deterritorialised and transcultural forms of art (Garcia Canclini).

Today, in the Portuguese visual arts we can observe a strengthening of debate about the nation, where some features of Portuguese folk culture are convoked. This paper explores the network of intentionalities (A. Gell) that underlies this tendency of Portuguese contemporary art. In a moment of redefinition of national cultures, characterized by the hybridism of the nations (H. Bhabha), it is important to question the relevance of the debate about the national identity.

The empirical corpus used in this paper is the result of several methodological strategies, mainly interviews and documental research.