About
About the association
APCEN — Associação Portuguesa de Cenografia (Portuguese Association of Scenography), founded in 2012, brings together professionals and students of scenography and related technical fields: scenographers, costume designers, prop makers, lighting designers, architects, technicians, teachers and researchers. It establishes itself as a site for the production and cultivation of culture specifically engaged in scenographic practices. Over the course of 14 years it has organised 15 National Scenography Meetings, exhibitions, talks and masterclasses across Portuguese territory. It has been the Portuguese National Centre of OISTAT since 2017 and a member of ARTSCÉNICO. It has maintained an active presence at the Prague Quadrennial since 2015.
APCEN — Associação Portuguesa de Cenografia (Portuguese Association of Scenography) was founded in 2012 out of the conviction that scenography, in its etymological root — the writing of the scene — deserves a dedicated space for reflection, production and dissemination.
It brings together scenographers, costume designers, prop makers, lighting designers, architects, technicians, teachers and researchers who share a commitment to advancing scenographic practices in Portugal and worldwide.
APCEN establishes itself as a site for the production and cultivation of culture specifically engaged in scenographic practices, developing reflective work on Portuguese scenography, the active enrichment of the field, engagement in artistic and cultural policy contexts, and the international dissemination of Portuguese scenography.
Over the course of 14 years, APCEN has organised 15 National Scenography Meetings in cities such as Porto, Coimbra, Baião, Montemor-o-Novo, Cascais, Évora, Lisboa, Aveiro and Palmela. In 2014 it published a yearbook of its associates' work. In 2017 it became the first Portuguese National Centre of OISTAT at the World Congress in Taipei. In 2018 it joined ARTSCÉNICO at the constituent assembly in Berlin.
At the Prague Quadrennial, APCEN secured the Official Portuguese Representation in 2015 with the project ID(Entity) BOX, in 2019 with a tribute to Cristina Reis in the PQ Fragments section, and in 2023 with HODO: UNIQUE JOURNEYS in the PQ Students section.
APCEN IN NUMBERS
Mission
To promote the recognition of scenography as an autonomous artistic discipline. To represent the professionals involved in the visual realisation of performance. To foster debate, training and research around the arts of the stage and scenic space.
"Olhamos para a Cenografia como um lugar de Democracia e, nos tempos que correm, é muito importante cuidarmos dela — da Cenografia. É ela que nos mostra como todos temos direito ao nosso lugar; é quem faz desmoronar fronteiras no espaço; é quem nos faz discutir ideias mesmo que, por vezes, concordemos em discordar — mas ela é assim mesmo. É ela que nos relembra a importância de sermos livres, dentro e fora de cena, e que nos diz que estarmos presentes e falar sobre ela já é, em si, um ato político. Hoje, mais do que nunca, é importante olharmos por ela, pela Cenografia."
— Board commitment, 2026–2028 term
Why join APCEN?
Become a Member
Discover the benefits of being part of APCEN and join a network of professionals and students in the visual realization of performance.
Become a Member