ATOS – Art, participation and territory is a joint publication resulting from the partnership between the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the D. Maria II National Theatre as part of the ATOS programme.

Inaugurated in 2023 and part of the National Odyssey initiative, ATOS was designed to promote participatory artistic practices with the communities of 40 municipalities from the North to the South of mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

This book, with the editorial coordination of Paula Varanda, shares and analyses a rich experience of encounters between people and places, as well as the work processes that generated 43 creations or citizen initiatives in the municipalities. It brings together different perspectives on an unprecedented journey that offers us a portrait of the country and will also serve to reflect on and move towards an effective democracy of culture.