It took a pandemic for the registrations of Azorean artists on the www.discoverazores.eu platform to grow significantly.

“During the past 4 weeks, we had 160 registrations on the platform” announces Terry Costa, the artistic director of the MiratecArts association, based in the island of Pico. With a total of 660 artists from digital art, visual arts, performance, literature, cinema & video, traditional arts and music, which currently leads the entries, the MiratecArts website and programming have been catalysts in creating synergies between artists from several islands and also between foreigners and locals.

“There are hundreds more artists on our 9 islands, in addition to the Azoreans and Azoreans who live outside the islands, who can join” adds Terry Costa, “the website is open to all and all creatives in artistic culture.” Entering the platform, filling in your information, creates a promotional page that connects to the world on the Internet. And, in a final click on “register me” it gives you access to MiratecArts opportunities and also e-news with tips for the world of arts beyond the Azores. “After registering, it is with each person what they want to do and how to participate” explains Terry Costa. “On average, we have had around 10% of employees participating annually, some through festivals, others through the programs we created online, others with inter-island collaborations and still others who should be satisfied just because they are part of the platform, because we never hear from them again. MiratecArts is what our employees want. We will see what it will be like after that quarantine. ”

The www.discoverazores.eu platform was MiratecArts’ first project, launched in 2012, with the aim of promoting the internationalization of Azorean art. After the first campaign, it was discovered that much more work was needed at home, in the region, and that was where the Azores Fringe Festival was born in 2013, where artists can use it as a showcase for their work. Competitions and participation in international fairs have also taken place, promoting the Azores with art and artists, supported by the Regional Department of Tourism.