ARTECH 2019 - 9th International Conference on Digital and Interactive Arts. 23-25 October 2019 - Braga, Portugal

Altice Forum Braga

The ARTECH 2019 conference will take place at the renewed Altice Forum Braga, a space of excellence to welcome all researchers, artists and students wishing to present their projects in media art.

Video: Altice Forum Braga. Where ARTECH 2019 will take place.

Altice Fórum Braga was inaugurated last year. The biggest conference space in the North of Portugal.

Image: official inauguration Altice Forum Braga. João Martinho Moura, 2018

The new Altice Forum Braga was inaugurated on April 27 2018, and has a congress center with the largest auditorium in the North region (1,454 seats) and has a pavilion with a capacity to accommodate more than 13 thousand people standing, being the second largest hall in Portugal. In addition to a contemporary art gallery, it also includes a plaza in an outdoor area with the capacity to receive concerts for more than 20 thousand spectators. This requalified infrastructure also has an exhibition area with many stands.

Braga was selected as a UNESCO Creative City for the field of Media Arts. Since its foundation the city has been in the avant-garde of its different contemporary scenarios, wether it was under the roman empire or during the sumptuous barroque period. With each challenge, the city has become richer in diversity and more curious about near future.

Braga is a city and a municipality in the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga, in the historical and cultural Minho Province. The city has a resident population of 192,494 inhabitants (in 2011),representing the seventh largest municipality in Portugal (by population). Its area is 183.40 km².Its agglomerated urban area extends from the Cávado River to the Este River. It is the third-largest urban centre in Portugal (after Lisbon and Porto).

The city was the European Youth Capital in 2012 and UNESCO City of Media Arts in 2017.

It is host to the oldest Portuguese archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church and it is the seat of the Primate Archbishop of Portugal and of the Hispanias (sharing the last title -“of the Hispanias”- with the Archbishop of Toledo and the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela). Under the Roman Empire, then known as Bracara Augusta, the settlement was the capital of the province of Gallaecia. Inside of the city there is also a castle tower that can be visited. Nowadays, Braga is a major hub for inland Northern Portugal.

Braga was officially designated as Creative City of UNESCO in the field of Media Arts. Since its foundation, the city has been at the forefront of the different periods of its history. Founded by the Celts in 300 BC was the administrative center of the Roman Empire, which later elevated the territory to the city. As times have passed, its urban fabric has been contaminated by new artistic and architectural currents, of which the Baroque period is the most significant and visible today. Hungry for new over time, the city became richer in diversity and more curious about the future.

Video: promotional video of the City of Braga