2019 - 2020

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Finding a Click in a Haystack was a curatorial project created by Rita during September 2019. The exhibition brought together the works of 22 upcoming artists from Portugal, China, Pakistan, USA and UK. The works ranged from installation and video to photography and painting. It took place at Cedofeita's Shopping Mall in Porto, Portugal. 

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The works explore how technology and social media are changing our individual and collective identities. Moreover, how we connect to each other in the context of urban environments where a feeling of being overwhelmed by change and data persists. 

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The title of the exhibition referred to the journey the viewer had to make in the space. The audience was meant to look for the needle in the haystack. The needles, or the “clicks”, were the artworks. Referring to the expression “needle in a haystack”, the quest that the audience had to make through the mall highlighted the difficulty of a certain task: the struggle to find real and meaningful connections, or “clicking”, both in virtual and urban environments. 

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Participating Artists:

Wasteland Collective: Ka Ian Hoi, Lelia Byron, Pui Pui Ip and Rita Castanheira / Situation Internet Collective: Bo Fan, Emily Mulenga, Qiaoer Jin, Rita Castanheira and Thomas Jon Walker/ Ana Durão / Ana Luísa Madeira / Beatriz Santos / Diana Amado / Diana Lucena / Fábio Moreira Araújo / Gil Peixoto / Inês Coelho da Silva / Mariana Sampaio / Mauro Santos /Maria Brito / Mário Afonso / Rodrigo Aroso / Veera Rustomji ​

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@haystack_projects on instagram