Fortress of Sagres opens €3.1 million exhibition center
Fortress of Sagres opens €3.1 million exhibition center
Living in Portugal
The Sagres Fortress Exhibition Center, an interactive multimedia venue dedicated to the discoveries of Portugal and Infante D. Enrique (or Prince Henry the Navigator), was inaugurated on Sunday by the Algarve Regional Cultural Commission (DGRA).
“This has been a difficult process, so today is a very happy day,” said DGRA boss Adriana Freire Nogueira.
“This is the result of an idea that was announced a long time ago. The project started in 2009 and finished in 2012, with renovations to the exterior spaces, walls, towers and just this building,” says Nogueira. explained.
A public presentation was held in 2012 detailing the goals of the project, followed by an update of the technical components in 2018. This is because “technology is constantly evolving”.
“I know it took a lot of hard work from the people before me (Daria Paulo and Alexandra Rodríguez Gonçalves) to make this happen. Thanks to the whole, we were finally able to start the procedure, starting the public tender in 2019, up to this very moment.”
The total cost of the investment is around €3.1 million, with the national tourism authority, the Portuguese Tourism Board (45%), the European Regional Development Fund (35%) and the PIPITAL – Public Investment Program Interested in Tourism in the Algarve (20%). %). , partly funded by Turismo de Portugal and the Regional Development Commission CCDR Algarve).
The new center is split into two sections.
Freire Nogueira explained, “Permanent exhibitions, or long-term exhibitions, are on the ground floor because permanence is against investigation and reflection.”
She said the exhibition looks at the past with a critical eye, making visitors question and reflect.
“We call it ‘permanent’ because it won’t change much in the next few years, but because of its richness and intensity, it’s not a one-time-visit exhibition, it’s sure to be renewed,” said the regional culture boss. rice field.
“From Infante D. Enrique to the expansion of the Orient, to the cult of São Vicente, to maps of the times, you can discover different moments in the history of this territory. The good and the bad of discovering Portugal. Spices in There is also a model of half a ship,” she said.
Nogueira added that it is essentially a multi-sensory exhibit with lighting effects and an olfactory experience.
The upper floors are dedicated to temporary contemporary art exhibitions.
“Considering the Sagres Fortress as a center of contemporary art is the challenge we pose to our visitors,” said Nogueira.
The plan is to host two major temporary exhibitions per year.
Opening with the Invisible Territories exhibition by Manuel Baptista, Adriana Nogueira said the gallery was “intended to offer new perspectives and views, either through historical content or through a more contemporary vision. I am doing,” he said.
The exhibition is curated by Miriam Tavares and Pedro Cabral of the Research Center for Art and Communication (CIAC) at the University of the Algarve, and DRGA is working on a protocol for this space.
We hope this new attraction will help the Fortress grow its success.
According to Freire Nogueira, the monument is already an international attraction, with over 454,000 visitors in 2019, making it the third most visited monument in Portugal.
In 2021, still affected by restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the fort registered 232,848 visitors, rising to second place in the national rankings.
The latest figures show that the fortress received 401,952 visitors between January and October, just a few ticks below the 421,268 who visited the monument during the same period in 2019. increase.
About 84% of visitors were foreigners in 2019, but by 2021 that percentage had fallen to 69% (probably because restrictions were still in place last year).
“The numbers speak for themselves, reflecting that Fort Sagres is recognized as one of the most important national monuments and, as a result, one of the most visited. We are,” celebrated the culture boss.
“They also show that recognition comes from foreigners. It was precisely this recognition that led to the project being announced here today,” Nogueira said.
Vila do Bispo Mayor Rute Silva said the opening of the center was “extremely satisfying” for all that Sagres represents, saying it would be an “asset” adding another reason to visit the municipality. .
The President of the Association of Portuguese Museology (APCOM), João Neto, also praised the new center, saying it was “very important for the Portuguese identity”.
“We must not forget that Sagres, Infante D. Henrique and Vasco da Gama are the three international brands of Portugal.
“It uses technology to facilitate the understanding and communication of broader issues such as our history and cultural heritage. It was an old aspiration realized and definitely needed,” Neto said. I got
Adriana Freire Nogueira, on the other hand, revealed that a group of friends from the Sagres Fortress had already been created with the aim of immediately helping to organize activities at the centre.
The content concept for the Sagres Fortress Description and Exhibition Center was created by CHAM, a humanities center associated with the Faculty of Social Sciences and Human Sciences of the NOVA University of Lisbon and the University of the Azores.
The work was led by Professor João Paulo Oliveira e Costa with the help of Carla Alferez Pinto, José Ferreira and Sophia Diniz. Professor Fernando Antonio Baptista Pereira, on the other hand, developed the program and content and selected the items and texts to be displayed.
Porto-based company Edigma was responsible for installing the center’s multimedia services.
PHOTO: BRUNO FILIPE PIRES/OPEN MEDIA GROUP
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