Mediation

The Vertical Garden at Coruchéus was created in 2015 and is located inside the architectural complex of Coruchéus (with access through Quadrum Gallery and the Municipal Atelier Complex). This modular structure, installed on one wall of the garden, parallel to Quadrum Gallery, is composed of 666 vases, in panels of 3 by 3, fitted with a drip irrigation system. Each year, it becomes home to a range of edible vegetable varieties (lettuce, tomato plants, beetroot, radish, rocket, spinach, watercress, sunflowers, strawberries and various aromatic herbs such as mint, parsley, coriander, basil, lemon balm and chives).

To encourage a long-lasting relationship, of sharing and intimacy in the creative process, between artists, teachers and pupils, every year the Municipal Galleries hosts and produces an artistic project by a guest artist which is carried out with a group of pupils from a school.

In 2018/2019 ‘Acessibilidade: como construir uma identidade’ (Accessibility: how to build an identity) by Vasco Araújo culminated in a demonstration on the street with the pupils, and the publication of a book; this project was developed in partnership with Rainha Dona Leonor Secondary School.

In 2019/2020 ‘A Câmara é o Corpo’ (The Camera is the Body) by Ana Vaz led to the creation of a film with pupils from Dom Dinis Secondary School.

For 2020/2021, the invited artist was Sílvia das Fadas, who responded with ‘Lama e Alvorada’ (Mud and Dawn). The project is currently in the creative development stage with a group of pupils from António Arroio Artistic School.

Seeking to establish a close relationship with the academic public interested in the field of the visual arts, particularly the aspects of museography, exhibition, curatorship, aesthetics and theories of artistic production, in 2019/20 the Municipal Galleries created the ‘Curatorship Masterclass’ in collaboration with the Post-Graduate Course in Curatorship at the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa. It provides an excellent opportunity for students to become better acquainted with the work of curatorship, through classes with curators who discuss different exhibition projects in the Municipal Galleries programme. We have renewed this partnership for 2020/21. The Programme takes place during the 1st and 2nd semesters of the academic year, and is composed of approximately 6 sessions, prepared and presented by the curators of each exhibition. The Municipal Galleries intend to open up this course to other partners, art schools and universities interested in the programme.