Within the scope of the Project I module, the organization MICAR - Mostra Internacional de Cinema Anti-Racista - and SOS Racismo invited students of design to develop an original project in the form of a poster within the theme of inequality and racial and ethnic discrimination. After some intense research, another strand was added to the project, in which a plan was created for a hypothetical exhibition.

The research aimed to deepen the understanding of the Roma community specifically in the Portuguese context - how they integrated, what problems they faced and what discrimination they suffered, through various sources. One of the most unavoidable instances of discrimination against the Roma, which was later used in the development of this project, comes from the placement of ceramic frogs - against which the Roma community has many superstitions - at the entrance of many stores and establishments throughout the country.

The project’s purpose was the dissection of information, the call for change and action, and the promotion of their culture. It is thus named “Lenços ao Vento: existir e resistir” or, in English, “Scarves in the wind: exist and resist”.

The poster, which also contains the program, takes shape around a visual graphic drawn with a calligraphy pen to both mimic the movement of a scarf in the wind and make it abstract in shape.

The exhibition was thought to be divided into three distinct moments. The first is a celebration of the culture, consisting of concerts with Roma artists, music and various other artistic work. The second highlights the question of racism and discrimination through lectures and talks aimed at the deconstruction of prejudices. The third was an invitation for graphic artists to create a poster that highlighted the need and called for a change in the matter of the frogs. For this, another poster was designed that showed the frog partially, with the intent to show it must be destroyed. 

The red chakra symbol within the identity represents the indo-arian ancestry of the Roma people and together with the typography chosen, completes the identity in a crucial way, making it meaningful and intemporal.

Event poster in Porto promoting the cultural festival taking place at Galeria Municipal do Porto.

Mock-up with one of the previous Galeria's exhibition photograph with our intervention posters.

My contribution for the poster exhibition. The poster shows the frog partially, with the intent to show it must be destroyed.