Rare Effect returns to Lisbon with five days of “Counter-Surveillance”

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Music

Rare Effect, Lisbon’s flagship digital arts festival, returns from 11 to 15 November with this year’s theme, Counter-surveillance.

Across five venues – Arroz Estúdios, ZABRA, Well Read, Cosmos and Damas – artists, musicians, theorists and filmmakers will turn their attention to the systems that watch, govern and shape our realities, and speculate on where things go from here.

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The lineup includes theorist McKenzie Wark, Scam Dust (Tiago and Shcuro), Ruby Thelot, and a performance from Carincur and João Pedro Fonseca, alongside DJ sets, talks, film screenings and a participatory tarot session.

It opens on Wednesday 11 November at Well Read, where Laura Lotti leads HEXEN, a participatory tarot session using Suzanne Treister’s HEXEN decks. Thursday 12 November moves to Cosmos for the Open Secret film screenings, including a commission from Hannah Cobb (Y7), paired with a live performance by moreiya.

Friday 13 November spans Arroz Estúdios and Damas with the launch of Common Archives, a storytelling initiative made with the Democratic Digital Commons and EuroAlter that amplifies marginalised communities through music and animation. The evening runs an installation tour, a roundtable and film screenings at Arroz Estúdios, followed by a DJ set from Gayance, before moving to Damas for sets from Violet, Maria Amor and more.

Saturday 14 November is the festival’s biggest day, running across ZABRA and Arroz Estúdios. Talks come from McKenzie Wark, Ruby Thelot, Irma Mastenbroek, Morgane Billuart and Odete, alongside the performance Jeffthielmusk® by Carincur and João Pedro Fonseca, and live sets from Marie Dior, Serpente, Van Der and Scam Dust.

The festival closes on Sunday 15 November across Arroz Estúdios and Well Read with a roundtable, Practice of Cultural Resistance: Histories of Independent Cultural Centres, bringing together representatives from Milan’s Tempio del Futuro Perduto, Planeta Manas, Arroz Estúdios and Lisbon’s Direito à Noite to reflect on the successes and challenges of running independent culture hubs in increasingly precarious European capitals. Entry on the Sunday is free, with registration required.

This year’s edition is developed as part of the Digital Democratic Commons, an EU-funded project exploring how AI impacts marginalised communities across Europe.

The full schedule is on MA.TO, and festival passes are on sale via Resident Advisor.