Events Events: Staging the Nation: Political Exhibitions and the Estado Novo's Cultural Strategy in the 1930s

Thursday, May 8, at 5:30 pm in Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese American Archives (Library). Free and open to the public. Park in lot 13.

The Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture and Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese American Archives present a talk by Annarita Gori (University of Lisbon), “Staging the Nation:

Political Exhibitions and the Estado Novo’s Cultural Strategy in the 1930s” on Thursday, May 8, at 5:30 pm in Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese American Archives (Library).

This talk explores the political exhibitions organized by the Estado Novo during the 1930s, highlighting how these carefully orchestrated events manipulated history to legitimize the regime’s authority. Connecting local practices to global contexts, it also demonstrates how the Estado Novo leveraged these exhibitions to consolidate internal support, promote international alliances, influence foreign audiences, and strengthen ties with the Portuguese diaspora. Finally, by situating the Estado Novo within the wider cultural strategies of interwar authoritarian regimes, the talk offers new perspectives on the interplay between propaganda, history, and politics during this critical period.

Annarita Gori is a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, and currently a Fulbright Scholar at UMass Dartmouth. Her expertise lies in cultural diplomacy, visual propaganda, and intellectual networks. Her latest book is Showing Salazarism: A Cultural History of Early Estado Novo Through Political Exhibitions (Routledge, 2025).