O Festival

We are now in our 5th edition of Esse Monte de Mulher Palhaça – International Festival of Women’s Comicality and, this year, we are celebrating femininity!!
Women’s wishes, their perfume, their voracity, their torments, their naked bodies, their dances and their craving to understand:
What are we here for?
Who is our audience?
Why are we clownesses?

Esse Monte de Mulher Palhaça is part of a set of actions taken by the group As Marias da Graça to spread the transformations we experience today and make the world a better place, with the equity of genres in the clown art and always focusing the work of Brazilian and international women-clowns.
The Festival started because of the need we had to increase the recognition of women clowns in Brazil. Undoubtedly, it has a relevant role in the education, multiplication and insertion of Brazilian clownesses in the art of circus, historically a realm of men.

According to the tradition established by our previous festivals, like when we invited women artists to design our logo, this year we are glad to have the partnership of Danielle Kitty, from Rede Nami, an important group of female graffiti artists who use urban art to enhance women’s rights.

The 5th edition of our festival is dedicated to Latin America. Clownesses from Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina share their professional experiences and expectations with Brazilian clownesses.

Besides the shows, there will be the lecture “Sem Photoshop” (No Photoshop), on the role of women in clown art, followed by the exhibit “Palhaças Peladas” (Naked Clownesses), which focus on the role of women and their bodies in society.
As we are still in the breast-feeding phase, which started in our 4th edition, we will have men artists and their wives or daughters in the number Circus and with the special participation of Russell Crowe.
In an innovative and bold action for an international festival, this year we bring a cabaret run by new generations of clownesses, students or young professionals, who perform together with more experienced artists.

Esse Monte de Mulher Palhaça is a feminine festival, in which every woman is welcome, no matter the “level” of her performance. We don’t watch the material sent to us for selection, or question the quality of such material. We just send out invitations.
What matters here is to be where you belong by right.

Once again, we thank you, our audience, and wish you a lot of fun. After all, that’s why we are clownesses: to try to make you have fun and have fun ourselves!!!

As Marias da Graça

Special Guests (international curators):

Gaby Pflügl and Pamela Schartner (Clownin, Vienna)
Nara Menezes and Enne Marx (PalhaçAria – Festival Internacional de Palhaças de Recife)
Manuela Castelo Branco (Encontro de Palhaças de Brasília)
Niina Ilola (Red Pearl Women Clown Festival – Finland)

Acknowledgement:

Maria da Gloria Viegas, Silma Abranches Theodoro, Carmen Anciães, Iara Viegas, Daniel Abranches Schiltine, Joaquim Anciães, Diogo Andrade, Bianca Fero, Regina Mascarenhas, Wladimir Duarte, Marcos Teixeira, Fernanda Schnoor, Jaqueline Besson, Luisa and Wernner, Fernanda Paixão, Nádja Naira e Leda Regina Paixão, EAT – Escola das Artes Técnicas Luís Carlos Ripper, Ana Viana, Rede Nami, The Naked Clownesses (they know who they are), Sydney de Jesus and his12 apostles, Bia Radunski, Cely Bianchi, Paulo Mattos, Leysa Vidal and Espaço Sesc Team, Sidney Cruz, Tahiba Melina and Escola SESC Team and all artists and professionals involved in the festival.

Disacknoledgement:
To all the obsessors and all those who stand in our way…