Lisboa Soa returned in 2025, after a necessary period of silence, marking the beginning of a new cycle, one more attentive to time, listening, and the depth of the experiences shared.
In this edition, energy was both the starting point and the destination. “Energy in Flow” was not only the festival’s theme; it served as a framework to think about the city, nature, and people as a single organism in constant motion. We reflected on the energy that vibrates in wind, water, and sound, as well as on the invisible energy that connects bodies, histories, and collective memory.
The festival occupied two sites marked by dense histories of surveillance and marginalisation. At the Panopticon of the Miguel Bombarda Hospital, where vision once functioned as control, the festival proposed a pan-acoustic space, where sound became the element that connects all parts. At the Mitra of Lisbon, where many lives intersected in silence, space was opened for sonic vibration to become a material of encounter and transformation. In both locations, listening emerged as a political and poetic gesture: hearing as a form of care, sharing, and recognition of the other.
Lisboa Soa 2025 brought together installations, performances, sound walks, talks, and workshops. More than a sequence of events, it was a proposal of attention: to pause, listen, and reflect on the energy that moves through places and inhabits bodies, opening space for other ways of being together.
In a time marked by visual overload and constant noise, the festival chose listening as a practice of reflection. By listening, space is created. Through listening, community is formed.
Team
Production • Sonora Cultural Association
Artistic Direction • Raquel Castro
Technical Direction • Hélder Nelson
Artistic Support and Scenography • Carla Martínez
Executive Production • Aline Pinto | Rita Conde
Production Support • Gui Garrido
Technical Support • Rodrigo Vieira
Photography • Vera Marmelo
Video Recording • Maria Khadija
Sound Recording • Rodrigo Vicente Martins
Communication • Sara Espírito Santo
Design • Desisto
Volunteers • Beatriz Azevedo | Elias Garcia | Lucas Berenguel | Lourenço Lagarto | Margarida Godinho | Pedro Moreira | Rafael Figueiredo | Rita Oliveira | Sasha Khozina | Sofia Gouveia Chita
