Jorge Barreto Xavier

Biography

He was born in Goa. In 1970 moved to Portugal, to the city of Guarda, Beira Interior. Lived in Guarda and Sabugal before he went to Lisbon in 1984 to study Law. In 1986, with 20 years old, founded the Portuguese Club of Arts and Ideas (PCAI). In 1987, he creates and coordinates the 1st Portuguese Arts and Ideas Show, an initiative that aimed to present the contemporary art and that has integrated works in the fields of architecture, fine arts, comics, cinema, dance, graphic design, photography, literature, music, theatre and video, a pioneer joint in Portugal.

This presentation model would be used in further initiatives that he has directed, like “New values of Culture” (1988), “Culture and Development” (1989 and 1990), “Tendencies” (1991) and “Young Artists” (1992), a name that continues to be used in initiatives annually developed by the PCAI to promote artists in the beginning of their careers. In 1991, with colleagues from the first graduate program on Arts Management in Portugal (1989), he founds the Portuguese Association of Arts´ Managers. In 1992, creates the Paideia program- artistic animation on secondary schools, an initiative through which contemporary art (music, theatre, dance, photography, fine arts, video) was taken to 180 Portuguese secondary schools until 1997. Alongside that, since 1988, through the PCAI, he becomes the responsible for the Portuguese representations on the Biennial of Young Artists from Europe and the Mediterranean, important for the internationalization of the Portuguese artists in the 80´s and 90´s of the twentieth century. In 1994 he directs the 7th Edition of the Biennial of Lisbon, with more than 500 artists from 20 countries.

In 1997, he creates the “Common Place- Experimentation Arts Centre” at a gunpowder factory in Barcarena, Oeiras. It was the first integrated centre of artistic experimentation in Portugal and one of the largest in Europe (with the possibility to work in several fields: visual arts, dance, music, theatre, writing, video and intermedia projects). Also in this year, creates the “Biennial of Young Creators of Lusophone Countries”, which continues to take place. Still on that period, as a member of the National Education Council, with Emília Nadal, writes the report “Arts Education, Aesthetic Education and the internationalization of Knowledge”, published in 1998.

In January 2003 becomes Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Oeiras, in charge of Culture, Youth and Consumer´s Protection. In Oeiras he creates the Youth Network by extending the available public spaces to the young people throughout the municipality. On the Cultural area, he putted into action the requalification project of Palácio Anjos, in Algés, to host the art collection Manuel Brito, one of the most important in the country. It is also on this period that Jorge Barreto Xavier leads the Inter-ministerial Commission on Education/Culture. In January 2006, begins his collaboration with Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, where, until April 2008, he leads the project “Reintegration through Arts” on the Educational Centres of the Directorate-General of Social Reintegration from the Ministry of Justice.

In April 2008, he becomes General-Director for the Arts. On that position, Jorge Barreto Xavier leads the reform of the State supports for the artistic activities and draws and implement the program “Inov-Art” that would become, in 2009 and 2010, the biggest program of professional international internships in the Cultural field promoted by a public authority from the European Union, with more than 200 interns per year, allocated in dozens of cities from 28 countries of the five continents. In July 2010 he resigns from the position of General-Director for the Arts. In September 2011 starts teaching at ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute, by designing and teaching the modules of cultural policies and creative industries´ management.

Between 26th October 2012 and 30th October 2015 he was Secretary of State for Culture of the XIX Constitutional Government of Portugal, under the authority of the Prime-Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho.