Opening of the NOVA Mafra Hub – Music, Art and Technology

agenda

DATE

04 Sep 2026

AUTHOR

Umbigo

Opening of the NOVA Mafra Hub – Music, Art and Technology

AUTHOR

Umbigo

On 10 September, NOVA University Lisbon will inaugurate the NOVA Mafra Hub – Music, Art and Technology in the South Tower of the National Palace of Mafra. According to a statement issued by NOVA University, this new centre will be a “space for research, training, technological innovation and artistic creation, in which music plays a unique role”. The opening of the centre also marks the launch of the ‘Amor Fati’ exhibition, curated by Catarina Portugal and featuring works by the artists Francisca Aires Mateus, Henrique Pavão and João Pimenta Gomes.

The project, which aims to combine skills from the arts and culture with technological skills applicable to the arts, understands music as a field of research, innovation and creation, but also as tangible and intangible heritage, embodied in monuments, archives, repertoires, practices, spaces and sound memory. The centre also reflects NOVA’s vision as a metropolitan university: a university that views the Lisbon Metropolitan Area as a territory of knowledge, culture, innovation and engagement, building lasting relationships with its places, institutions and communities.

Developed in partnership with the Municipality of Mafra, and situated within the National Palace of Mafra (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2019), the Hub benefits from a unique heritage setting. The establishment of the National Museum of Music in the same building and the planned establishment of the National Sound Archive in Mafra create particularly favourable conditions for collaboration between the University and heritage institutions in the areas of research, innovation and creation.

The Hub forms part of the Institute of Art and Technology (IAT) at NOVA University Lisbon, a space where the arts, humanities, science and technology converge. The project originated with CESEM – Centre for Music Studies and INET-md – Institute of Ethnomusicology – Centre for Music and Dance Studies, research centres at NOVA FCSH dedicated to music studies.

From 10 September, Mafra will be home to scientific and laboratory facilities, including the Musical Acoustics Laboratory and the Musical Informatics Laboratory, as well as the IAT project – developed in collaboration between NOVA FCT and NOVA FCSH – dedicated to the application of digital technologies to the documentation, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, which will establish a Digital Heritage Laboratory in Mafra.

Alongside scientific research, the new centre will also offer courses, workshops, masterclasses and specialised training, as well as cultural programmes open to the public. As part of this, NOVA FCSH is organising a series of open lectures entitled “Music in Childhood: Movement, Voice and Communication” from 17 October to 21 November 2026.

More information available here.

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