The Regional Director for Youth said today that the Walk&Talk Festival "is another example of the cultural entrepreneurship demonstrated by two Azorean youngsters." This initiative will be held between July 18 and August 8.

Pilar Damião spoke at the presentation of the festival's fourth edition. It will feature outdoor events, exhibitions, performances, dance, concerts, screenings, seminars, discussions, laboratories, artistic residences and workshops. The festival involves the participation of over 60 artists in about twenty spaces.

"The investment in creative economy has been regarded as one of the major development strategies for the 21st century in Europe and, more recently, in Portugal and in the Region," stressed Pilar Damião.

For the Regional Director, "the transformation of cultural wealth into economic wealth is the path to be followed in a knowledge economy which, based on innovation and creativity, invests in better results and more capital."

"The Government of the Azores considers entrepreneurship (in any of its forms) as a mobilising tool to support youngsters overcoming the multiple challenges they face," said Pilar Damião.

Organised by the ANDA&FALA Interpretação Cultural association, the Walk&Talk Festival is an event that addresses contemporary art in an informal way and places the Azores in the itinerary of creative regions.

This year, the International Public Art Festival begins with the opening of a collective exhibition in Ponta Delgada that brings together works by guest artists. It will be open to the public during the two-week festival.

The event will focus on educational services with the aim of involving more people in the artistic activities developed under the festival. In addition, it will also feature several artists who will perform in outdoor spaces and the organisation of four artistic residences: the Architecture Laboratory, the Music and Literature Laboratory, the Contemporary Dance Residence and the Contemporary Handicrafts Residence.