Climacz

On 28 June 1995, a group of LGBTQIA+ activists organised the first public LGBTQIA+ Pride Day celebration in Portugal with the support of the Homosexual Working Group of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (PSR). The event took place at the Climacz nightclub in Lisbon.

Drawing on this historical event, João Pedro Vale and Nuno Alexandre Ferreira created an art installation exploring the concept of queer memory and the influence of electronic music and dance venues on the visibility and development of the queer community in Portugal during the 1990s. As there are practically no records of that night, the artists conducted research with people who attended the 1995 party, collecting testimonies and consulting contemporary press reports, in order to create an installation offering an interpretation of the event.

In 2024, this work, titled Climacz, opened at Appleton Square in Lisbon and the space was transformed into a performance that completes the work itself, with the collaboration of DJ and party promoter João Viegas and dancer and choreographer Guilherme Leal.

As part of the collective exhibition Lucid Reverie – Panorama of Portuguese Contemporary Art, Climacz will once again be presented in party format on the opening night. This time, it will take place at Maus Hábitos and will feature DJ sets by As Docinhas, Mvria and Viegas, performance by Guilherme Leal, and the hostess Jnoir.

Photographs by Silvana Torrinha