Organization, Engagement, Coloniality. Hangar: Centro de Investigações Artísticas in Lisbon.

This paper analyzes the work of Hangar: Centro de Investigação Artística, the first artist-managed space in Portugal dealing with postcolonial issues and African art. Through an analysis of Hangar´s activities, I aim to critically examine how African art has been displayed and consumed in Portugal, particularly in relation to the production of the country´s contradictory postcolonial image. The emergence of Hangar and the development of long-term relations both with emerging artists born in Africa and with the local Afro-Portuguese community imply, I suggest, a new and more fruitful approach. This collaboration also provides new tools for artists and cultural agents to strengthen their agency against the forces of touristification and commoditization that Lisbon and contemporary art from Portuguese-speaking African countries are respectively experiencing. The text is followed by a short interview with Hangar´ founders and directors Bruno Leitão and Mónica de Miranda.