Theatre and sustainable territorial communities: A case study in Northern Portugal

Abstract

To consider culture as the fourth pillar of sustainability implies new intellectual and political debate at both the theoretical and the empirical level, revisiting knowledge already established within economics and the sociology of development on the centrality of culture as a framework, a resource and a strategy for local and community development. When considered in the context of rural sustainability, rural territories pose specific problems. On the one hand, demographic and socioeconomic imbalances represent hard restrictions on the ways that resources and agents can be mobilized as part of development processes. On the other hand, the richness of material and non-material heritage, the vividness of oral traditions, a strong sense of community and cultural identity, are important local assets that can be transformed into effective instruments for development via appropriate policies and programs.This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities for applying culture as an instrument of rural sustainability by exploring the specific case study example of a long-term artistic and cultural intervention project in Northern Portugal. The project involves a professional theatre troupe delivering performance-based, creative and educational activities within a number of rural communities. The project is itself a partnership between a group of professional artists and five municipalities in Northern Portugal; its aim is to use the rich non-material local heritage as a basis for collective involvement in a sustainable culture-driven development strategy. The paper traces the evolution of the project over a 10 year period since its inception in 2004 and reveals empirically the ways in which it has impacted upon local development, highlighting the potential of culture as an instrument in rural sustainability.