Six homeless people living at the Escola Industrial Afonso Domingues, in Marvila, Lisbon, will be accommodated in Local Accommodation during the four nights of the Iminente Festival, which runs from September 17 to 20. The festival organization guaranteed this temporary accommodation near the former school so that these people have greater privacy during the event, while still being able to access the venue if they wish. When the organization arrived at the site to prepare the festival, there were 22 people sleeping in the space, who had already been flagged by the Lisbon City Council and were being supported by the Associação Vida Autónoma.
The housing solution was found together with the Lisbon City Council and AVA, with most people agreeing to be referred to other social services. However, six people wanted to remain at the former school, which was fenced off in April with a notice to vacate. Juliana Almeida, director of the festival, emphasized that Iminente never asked people to leave and that it has always believed in coexistence. Two of these people are working with the organization in preparing the space and in visual arts, keeping their belongings inside the school during the festival.
The Afonso Domingues School, closed in 2010 due to plans for the Third Tagus Crossing, was abandoned when the organization arrived, with no water, electricity, and with garbage and roof tiles falling. Since November, the festival has been revitalizing the space, respecting the existing structure and transforming it through visual arts. The venue was divided between the areas inhabited by the residents and the areas open to the public, which will not have access to each other.
The Iminente Festival celebrates its 10th edition this year, bringing together music and visual arts across five stages, with over 140 artists throughout the four days. Juliana Almeida said the space brought many challenges but also many possibilities, and that the idea of coexistence is being applied physically at the festival.
