In a year when the Gulbenkian Garden is now, more than ever, a place of freedom, and when cultural activities have become hard to enjoy, the Summer Garden 2020 will have a transdisciplinary and truly eclectic programme chosen by ZDB (Galeria Zé dos Bois). The programme was built around the qualities of the garden itself and aims to “safeguard an inclusive space by paying special attention to individual fruition” and will explore a variety of practises including installation, performance and music.

Throughout the first three weekends of July, the Gulbenkian Garden will turn into Jardim Concreto with the three installations by Patrícia Portela, Christoph De Boeck and Paulo Morais, its landscape will be explored and its elements enhanced for the public to enjoy. These elements are, according to the programmers, capable of promoting “reflection upon the issues that we are facing: the new geological era, the environmental crisis caused by human activity and its repercussions on a social, ecological and economical level.

On Sunday mornings a mask serigraphy workshop by Oficina Arara will allow participants to explore colours and images, to combine and superimpose different shapes. On the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday, ZDB proposes two performances by Gustavo Sumpta and one by Tiago Barbosa (taking place in the stage of the Grande Auditório) capable of “bringing about an individual experience of contemplation and reflection”. The admission is free for all of these activities.

The nights from Friday to Sunday will have an eclectic programme of concerts in the open-air amphitheatre of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation with several proposals ranging from classical music to funaná, from traditional songs to improvised and exploratory music: B Fachada, Calhau!, João Pais Filipe & Burnt Friedman, João Barradas, Julinho da Concertina, Luís Severo, Marco Franco with Joana Gama and Tiago Sousa, Maria Reis, Norberto Lobo, Orquestra Gulbenkian, Peter Evans, and Selma Uamusse.

Following the same work method that ZDB has been developing, this programme will also feature a variety of new site-specific creations. The Summer Garden 2020 will host three unseen creations: the sculptures ESTADO EROSÃO by the Berru collective, in the garden, the performance ANIMAL ANIMAL, by Tiago Barbosa, in the Grande Auditório and the concert Ruin Marble by Alexandre Estrela, Gabriel Ferrandini and Pedro Tavares in the open-air amphitheatre.