Brazil Announces Afrofuturist Festival in Salvador and AI Cultural Contest in São José dos Pinhais

The 6th edition of the Festa Literária Arte e Identidade will take place from 16 to 18 September 2026 in Salvador's historic Pelourinho district. The festival, themed “O Futuro é Ancestral – Arte e Literatura Afrofuturista,” offers lectures, workshops, artistic performances and a literary competition called “Versos de Identidade.” Submissions from public‑school students across Bahia are accepted until 31 July, with finalists presenting their poems onstage.

Separately, the Prefeitura de São José dos Pinhais is running the 2026 Concurso de Linguagens Culturais, themed “Entre Circuitos e Sentimentos: A alma na era da IA.” The contest, open until 30 September, invites residents of the Curitiba metropolitan area to submit literary works (short story, chronicle, poetry, essay) and photographs in adult and youth categories. Organized by the municipal culture department, the event aims to explore how artificial intelligence reshapes creativity, identity and emotion.

Both initiatives are free to the public and seek to engage young people in cultural production, highlighting contemporary themes—Afrofuturism in the northeast and artificial‑intelligence impact in the south—within Brazil's 2026 cultural calendar.