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Independent Curators International supports the work of curators to help create stronger art communities through experimentation, collaboration, and international engagement.

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Irlando Ferreira: 2024 Curatorial Research Fellow

Apr 18, 2024

Irlando Ferreira’s research seeks to analyze and document the role of visual art in shaping and affirming the cultural identity of post-independence Cabo Verde; as independence leader Amílcar Cabral wrote, “The liberation struggle is first and foremost an act of culture.”

Focusing on three artists – Manuel Figueira, Luísa Queirós and Bela Duarte, who together formed Cooperativa Resistência or The Collective Resistance – the project will uncover how these creatives’ work to research, preserve, and revitalize Cabo Verdean popular culture in the 1970s laid the foundation for a new aesthetic and political reality in the country. Deeply rooted in Cabo Verde’s complex history as a Portuguese colony and center of the transatlantic slave trade, Irlando’s research will also tie Cabo Verdean narratives to broader discussions across the African continent and Global South.

 

Irlando Ferreira (b. Mindelo, Cabo Verde, 1981) works in the arts and culture sector through interdisciplinary research and practice, focusing on curating, programming, and cultural management. In recognition of the impact of his work on the African continent, in 2020, he was distinguished as one of the 40 most influential thinkers in Africa under the age of 40 by Apollo – The International Art Magazine, London. In 2022, he was distinguished as one of the “100 Most Influential Black Personalities in Lusophony” by Bantumen. 

Between 2015 and 2023, he served as director and chief curator of CNAD. Under his leadership, he prompted new directions for Cabo Verde’s cultural policies and management; the CNAD regained its status as a public institute with unique and upgraded cultural facilities, including museum, library and research centre, training centre and collection storage. He also coordinated the research team to create and implement the legal framework for the national arts and crafts sector (2018-2021), Cabo Verde. 

Based on innovative curatorial practices, he structured regular interdisciplinary artistic programming and curated various exhibitions, namely “Island in IV Acts by Luísa Queirós”, “Arkipélg by Carlos Noronha Feio”, “Strings - Cabo Verde’s Tapestry” and co-curated “Cabo-Verdean Creation: Routes” with Adélia Borges at CNAD. 

With a degree in Theatre and a Master's in Management and Cultural Studies, he authored the book 'Cabo Verde, Creative Economies: What Benefits for the Country? He is also the editor of various books and a catalogues. Additionally, he actively participated in the "Culture for the Future" Manifesto, an initiative by the European Union held in Brussels (2019), and in the "Cabo Verde International Ambition Forum 2030", promoted by the State of Cabo Verde (2020).