Fios do Meio

Fios do Meio is an aid to artistic creation whose main objectives are to support, get to know and make known the artistic work of people of any age, gender and nationality, born in, living, or working in the districts of Santarém and Leiria, without ties to a production structure.

Identifying artists and artistic projects as ‘threads in the middle’ is intended to signal their importance in the vitality of communities and territories. Through this initiative, Materiais Diversos and the project’s partners – the Municipality of Alcanena, Cine-Teatro Paraíso (Municipality of Tomar), Teatro José Lúcio da Silva (Municipality of Leiria) and Teatro-Cine de Pombal (Municipality of Pombal), aim to get involved in the establishment and development of artists from/in the region, creating suitable conditions for the development of their projects and deepening their relationships with different audiences and cultural organisations, as well as encouraging collaborations that consolidate the region’s cultural ecosystem and contribute to social cohesion and the enrichment of people’s imaginations.

Fios do Meio favours projects in the performing arts, although it does not exclude other artistic areas. These projects can be new creations or creations that need to be consolidated through a new phase of development. Projects of an exclusively academic, school or amateur nature will not be accepted.
The support will be awarded by open call to a project selected by a jury from different professional areas linked to the region. When assessing applications, the jury will value, among other things, the technical and artistic quality of the team and the role this support can play in their career, as well as the consistency, relevance and innovative nature of the artistic proposal.
It includes financial support of €11,000, which covers the residency period and the fees for the public presentations of the project, plus logistical costs (accommodation, meals and national travel, up to a maximum of 4 people per residency/presentation), technical support and artistic accompaniment, including two feedback sessions with guests to be defined according to the selected project.
The public presentations will take place as part of the Materiais Diversos Festival (in a venue to be designated), at the Cine-Teatro Paraíso (Tomar), the Black Box (Leiria) and the Municipal Auditorium of Pombal. As such, the supported project must accommodate the necessary adaptations to the venues and respect their technical conditions.
Fios do Meio support can be combined with other forms of funding or partnerships, but the possibility of co-financing by the project’s partners via other support or calls for proposals is excluded, safeguarding the risk of double funding. The application must identify all support confirmed at the time of submission, including residencies, co-productions and presentations.
The award of this support does not constitute any employment relationship between the promoters, beneficiaries or performers involved, and is exclusively a general support for artistic creation. Payments will be made in accordance with the plan to be defined, upon presentation of an invoice.