The Circle of Filigree Gold Beads – Singers in Bahia

A unique meeting of voices and memories: Cantadeiras do Minho and Baianas da Bahia unite in performance. Help us make it possible!

The Circle of Gold Filigree Beads – Historical Connections between Bahia and Viana do Castelo is an artistic and research project that intersects memory, identity and tradition.

Artist RitaGT , in collaboration with the Cantadeiras do Vale do Neiva Cultural Association , has been selected for an artistic residency at the Sacatar Institute in Bahia (November 2025 – January 2026). It is there that a unique performance will emerge, uniting the polyphonic singing of the Cantadeiras — a living heritage of Minho — with the voices and gestures of a group of Bahian women from Itaparica Island.

Gold, Minho filigree, and Creole jewelry become symbols of connection between continents, of female resistance, and of collective memory. Women's bodies and voices become places of belonging, heritage, and shared future.

We have already secured crucial support:

• DGArtes – Support for Internationalization (€15,000)

• Instituto Sacatar – RitaGT's artistic residency for research (accommodation, studio and local logistics)

• Camões Institute and Portuguese Embassy in Brazil – Institutional support

• Viana do Castelo City Council, Viana Festas and Porto and North Tourism – Logistical and institutional support

But one essential step remains: securing the travel and accommodation for the 20 Cantadeiras from Vale do Neiva in Bahia (January 13–20, 2026). Without this support, the performance will not be possible.

That's why we launched this campaign: to raise the funds necessary for the group's travel and dignified stay.

Why support?

• You will help bring about a unique historical and cultural encounter between Portugal, Brazil, and Africa.

• You will be enhancing Portuguese intangible heritage through the international projection of Cantadeiras.

• You will contribute to a transatlantic artistic legacy , with performances also planned in Portugal.

Call to Action

With your support, this project becomes a reality. Each contribution is a gesture of belonging, of the future, and of sharing.
Help us bring the voices of the Neiva Valley to Bahia!

About the author

We are the Cantadeiras do Vale do Neiva , a polyphonic group founded in 1982 by ethnographer Manuel Delfim da Silva Pereira, in the heart of Minho. We sing a cappella, in three and four voices, keeping alive an ancient tradition made up of religious and secular songs, legends, sayings, prayers, and folk games that have been passed down through generations. Today, organized as a cultural association , our mission is to preserve, promote, and reinvent this intangible heritage.

Among us is also the artist RitaGT , singer and creator of this project. With a professional career spanning over 20 years in the visual and performing arts, Rita has exhibited at leading institutions in Portugal, Brazil, Angola, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Nigeria. She was curator of the Angola Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale and is an artist represented in important public and private collections. Her work intersects memory, identity, orality, and performance, giving voice to women as guardians and reinventors of traditions.

The project "The Circle of Gold Filigree Beads" was born from this dual affiliation: from Rita to the Cantadeiras and from our collective desire to bring the voices of the Neiva Valley into dialogue with the voices of a group of Bahian women from Itaparica Island, Bahia. Together, we will create a performance that unites song, memory, and the symbolism of gold and filigree, activating shared histories between Portugal, Brazil, and Africa.

This is more than a show: it's a tribute to the women who came before us, to our mothers and ancestors, and a way to promote Portuguese folk singing worldwide. We already have institutional support in Portugal and Brazil, but now we need your help to ensure that the 20 Cantadeiras can travel to Bahia in January 2026 and make this dream come true.

With your support, this tradition will cross the Atlantic and return more alive, stronger, and more shared. 🌍🎶

Budget and due dates

The total cost of the project The Circle of Gold Beads in Filigree – Historical Connections between Bahia and Viana do Castelo is €34,000 . We already have the support of DGArtes – Directorate-General for the Arts (€15,000) , the Sacatar Institute (artistic residency in Bahia) , the Embassy of Portugal in Brazil , the Camões Institute , the City Council of Viana do Castelo and the Porto and North Tourism Board .

The funds raised through this campaign will be used exclusively to guarantee the travel and accommodation of the 20 Cantadeiras from Vale do Neiva in Bahia (January 13–20, 2026), without which the performance cannot be carried out.

Expected expenses:

• Travel and insurance (20 people): €18,000
  (international flights + travel insurance + domestic transportation)

• Accommodation and meals (20 people, 7 nights): €10,000
  (collective accommodation + meals)

• Communication, dissemination and documentation: €4,000
  (press office, audiovisual recording, graphic materials)

• Publications and digital archive: €1,000

Schedule:

• November 2025 – January 2026 → RitaGT’s artistic residency at the Sacatar Institute (Itaparica, Bahia), archival research and work with local communities.

• January 13-20, 2026 → Trip of the Cantadeiras do Vale do Neiva to Bahia and public presentation of the collaborative performance.

• February – September 2026 → Processing of collected materials, audiovisual editing, production of installations and digital catalog, exhibitions in Portugal and Brazil, pedagogical and cultural mediation activities.

With this support, the voices of the Cantadeiras will be able to cross the Atlantic and merge with the voices of Bahia, in an artistic gesture of enormous cultural, historical and symbolic value.

Images

Documents

• ocirculodascontasdeouro_ritagt_cantadeirasvaledoneiva.pdf

  pdf • 9.39 MB