From the Museum to the Garden: Queer Reading Circle

Taking Paul B. Preciado’s Countersexual Manifesto as its starting point, this reading circle proposes an experience of reading and encounter across different spaces and ways of thinking about the body, gender, and sexuality. Throughout the programme, the museum and the garden are activated as sites of critical and sensory experimentation where theory meets lived experience and collective dialogue.
The first session takes place at MAC/CCB on 21 June at 11:00 am. Drawing on a selection of works on display, it opens up a conversation between the book and the exhibition space, exploring ways of reimagining the norms that shape gender and sexuality.
The second session takes place at Jardim das Conchas on 23 June from 6:30 pm, in a picnic setting centred on sharing and exchange. Building on the reflections initiated in the museum, it creates time and space for collective thinking, conversation, and attentive listening.
Registration is required. Participants will receive detailed information about the activity upon registration. Reading the manifesto beforehand is recommended, but no prior knowledge of the subject is necessary.

This reading circle was conceived and is led by Maribel Mendes Sobreira and Carolina Flores. Philosophers, essayists, and friends, they share a practice of thinking grounded in the dialogue between philosophy, visual culture, and feminisms, and a love of discussing books and ideas.

Maribel Mendes Sobreira writes on a range of subjects at the intersection of philosophy, aesthetics, and visual culture. She regularly participates in conversations and debates nationally and internationally, collaborates with museums and contemporary art institutions—including MAAT, MAC/CCB, and Gulbenkian—and is an Associate Researcher with Praxis at CFUL.

Carolina Flores returned to Portugal after more than a decade studying and working at universities in the United Kingdom and the United States. She is now Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lisbon and a researcher with the LanCog group at CFUL, where she teaches and conducts research on ignorance and belief. Her writing has appeared in publications including Jacobin, Autostraddle, El Salto, Público, and Shifter.pt.

Free participation upon prior registration

☎️ Bookings and information: +351 213 612 800 (national landline call rate), Monday to Friday, 10:00 am–1:00 pm and 2:00pm–5:30pm.
💻 Bookings by e-mail: servico.educativo.museu@ccb.pt