After September's field trip, CreativeMornings/Porto returned to Espiga in October with a great talk by Professor Álvaro Domingues, a geographer and researcher in the field of urban planning.

Hugo and Inês presented the crew, the speaker and all attendees with a rich breakfast, which in what a chilly morning included a much needed cup of tea for yours truly. Luís Silva greeted the attendees, while Filipe Brandão photographed the event and Catarina David videotaped the talk with the help of Duarte Castelo Branco.

Professor Domingues approached the monthly theme of transparency from an askew angle. Using the novel Os Transparentes by Angolan writer Ondjaki as start, Prof. Álvaro Domingues talked about his travels through Luanda, and how the city's spatial and social geography is riddled with transparencies, Ondjaki's chosen word for invisibilities. People's needs are as invisible to Angola's ruling elites, but so did most of Angola's history, including a recent thirty-year civil war, been rendered transparent. And in a stark contrast, Prof. Domingues reported how his status as a Portuguese white male (that is, one of the ex-colonizers) made him absolutely conspicuous and visible, how the desired transparency as an observer was impossible.

After a brief Q&A with the attendees we gave Professor Domingues a very warm thank you for his talk and extended him our invitation to attend the next CreativeMornings/Porto, November 25th, again with Hugo and Inês’ delicious breakfast at Espiga! Artist and illustrator Constança Araújo Amador will talk about #Fantasy! All welcome!

Text by Eduardo Morais. Photos by Filipe Brandão. Top illustrattion by Joel Faria.