Artist to give away money at Imaginarius festival to test submission to capitalism

An artist suspended 20 meters high will distribute real money at Imaginarius – Santa Maria da Feira International Street Theater Festival, through challenges launched to spectators to test their level of submission to capitalism.

As part of the event that will take 43 companies to the city in the Aveiro district and Porto Metropolitan Area from May 22nd to 25th, the show in question is “Acts of Liberation” and is produced by the Spanish collective Money for Free, whose artistic director, Sergi Estebanell, promises a “poetic-political” intervention at 6:30 pm on the 24th, the aim of which is to “move, break down barriers, capture the present moment and promote deep reflection”.

In practice, the character described as “John Fisherman” will be suspended from a building and, under a yellow raincoat, without showing his face, will throw a fishing rod into the crowd with bait worth a total of 200 euros. Meanwhile, two other members of the collective will be on the ground urging the spectators to choose who deserves to receive the amount that the fisherman proposes to release.

“John really gives the money and people do whatever they want with it,” Estebanell said in an interview with Lusa. “The ones who win the most are the viewers who are particularly creative in how they get it or whoever the public decides should receive it,” he added.

Regardless of the reactions observed, the director of the Money for Free collective says that there is no right or wrong behavior: “The show is simply a mirror of our capitalist society because what happens during the performance reflects who we are.”

“Some people actively go after the money, others don’t believe in what’s happening, others propose ideas, rules and actions to change things... Some get angry, frustrated, and others leave,” he explained.

After the project’s premiere in 2018 at the Catalan festival Fira Tàrrega and more than 80 screenings in 20 countries, Estebanell confesses that he is still impressed when the audience of “Acts of Liberation” becomes emotional and genuinely participates in the performance. Regarding these moments, he recalls how “some people have freed themselves from the symbol of money by performing beautiful gestures: sharing it with those who need it, making anti-capitalist statements, eating it, burning it or letting it fly in a balloon”.

The show thus fulfills the objective of promoting collective and individual reflection on the cult of money, in the awareness that any action has consequences.

“I believe we are living in an increasingly individualistic, narcissistic and egocentric society. To achieve something together, we have to reconnect with both strangers and those we love, because an emotional connection can be the starting point for social transformation,” argues Estebanell.

In this effort to cohabit, which is intended to be tolerant and empathetic, the Spanish artist warns, however, of the need to avoid extremism, whatever the ideology at its base. “I am concerned about extremes, fights between peers, rigid thinking, the systematization and automation of humanity – when we stop looking at others, embracing them, taking care of them,” he admits.

For this very reason, Estebanell is convinced that his professional field has an active role to play in the “new era” in which we now live: “We have to listen to and understand others – not only from a rational point of view, but also physically and emotionally – and art is essential to achieve this”.

An artist suspended 20 meters high will distribute real money at Imaginarius – Santa Maria da Feira International Street Theater Festival, through challenges launched to spectators to test their level of submission to capitalism.

As part of the event that will take 43 companies to the city in the Aveiro district and Porto Metropolitan Area from May 22nd to 25th, the show in question is “Acts of Liberation” and is produced by the Spanish collective Money for Free, whose artistic director, Sergi Estebanell, promises a “poetic-political” intervention at 6:30 pm on the 24th, the aim of which is to “move, break down barriers, capture the present moment and promote deep reflection”.

In practice, the character described as “John Fisherman” will be suspended from a building and, under a yellow raincoat, without showing his face, will throw a fishing rod into the crowd with bait worth a total of 200 euros. Meanwhile, two other members of the collective will be on the ground urging the spectators to choose who deserves to receive the amount that the fisherman proposes to release.

“John really gives the money and people do whatever they want with it,” Estebanell said in an interview with Lusa. “The ones who win the most are the viewers who are particularly creative in how they get it or whoever the public decides should receive it,” he added.

Regardless of the reactions observed, the director of the Money for Free collective says that there is no right or wrong behavior: “The show is simply a mirror of our capitalist society because what happens during the performance reflects who we are.”

“Some people actively go after the money, others don’t believe in what’s happening, others propose ideas, rules and actions to change things... Some get angry, frustrated, and others leave,” he explained.

After the project’s premiere in 2018 at the Catalan festival Fira Tàrrega and more than 80 screenings in 20 countries, Estebanell confesses that he is still impressed when the audience of “Acts of Liberation” becomes emotional and genuinely participates in the performance. Regarding these moments, he recalls how “some people have freed themselves from the symbol of money by performing beautiful gestures: sharing it with those who need it, making anti-capitalist statements, eating it, burning it or letting it fly in a balloon”.

The show thus fulfills the objective of promoting collective and individual reflection on the cult of money, in the awareness that any action has consequences.

“I believe we are living in an increasingly individualistic, narcissistic and egocentric society. To achieve something together, we have to reconnect with both strangers and those we love, because an emotional connection can be the starting point for social transformation,” argues Estebanell.

In this effort to cohabit, which is intended to be tolerant and empathetic, the Spanish artist warns, however, of the need to avoid extremism, whatever the ideology at its base. “I am concerned about extremes, fights between peers, rigid thinking, the systematization and automation of humanity – when we stop looking at others, embracing them, taking care of them,” he admits.

For this very reason, Estebanell is convinced that his professional field has an active role to play in the “new era” in which we now live: “We have to listen to and understand others – not only from a rational point of view, but also physically and emotionally – and art is essential to achieve this”.

An artist suspended 20 meters high will distribute real money at Imaginarius – Santa Maria da Feira International Street Theater Festival, through challenges launched to spectators to test their level of submission to capitalism.

As part of the event that will take 43 companies to the city in the Aveiro district and Porto Metropolitan Area from May 22nd to 25th, the show in question is “Acts of Liberation” and is produced by the Spanish collective Money for Free, whose artistic director, Sergi Estebanell, promises a “poetic-political” intervention at 6:30 pm on the 24th, the aim of which is to “move, break down barriers, capture the present moment and promote deep reflection”.

In practice, the character described as “John Fisherman” will be suspended from a building and, under a yellow raincoat, without showing his face, will throw a fishing rod into the crowd with bait worth a total of 200 euros. Meanwhile, two other members of the collective will be on the ground urging the spectators to choose who deserves to receive the amount that the fisherman proposes to release.

“John really gives the money and people do whatever they want with it,” Estebanell said in an interview with Lusa. “The ones who win the most are the viewers who are particularly creative in how they get it or whoever the public decides should receive it,” he added.

Regardless of the reactions observed, the director of the Money for Free collective says that there is no right or wrong behavior: “The show is simply a mirror of our capitalist society because what happens during the performance reflects who we are.”

“Some people actively go after the money, others don’t believe in what’s happening, others propose ideas, rules and actions to change things... Some get angry, frustrated, and others leave,” he explained.

After the project’s premiere in 2018 at the Catalan festival Fira Tàrrega and more than 80 screenings in 20 countries, Estebanell confesses that he is still impressed when the audience of “Acts of Liberation” becomes emotional and genuinely participates in the performance. Regarding these moments, he recalls how “some people have freed themselves from the symbol of money by performing beautiful gestures: sharing it with those who need it, making anti-capitalist statements, eating it, burning it or letting it fly in a balloon”.

The show thus fulfills the objective of promoting collective and individual reflection on the cult of money, in the awareness that any action has consequences.

“I believe we are living in an increasingly individualistic, narcissistic and egocentric society. To achieve something together, we have to reconnect with both strangers and those we love, because an emotional connection can be the starting point for social transformation,” argues Estebanell.

In this effort to cohabit, which is intended to be tolerant and empathetic, the Spanish artist warns, however, of the need to avoid extremism, whatever the ideology at its base. “I am concerned about extremes, fights between peers, rigid thinking, the systematization and automation of humanity – when we stop looking at others, embracing them, taking care of them,” he admits.

For this very reason, Estebanell is convinced that his professional field has an active role to play in the “new era” in which we now live: “We have to listen to and understand others – not only from a rational point of view, but also physically and emotionally – and art is essential to achieve this”.