The Círculo Dr. José de Figueiredo – Amigos do Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis, in partnership with the Soares dos Reis National Museum, Porto University and the Marques da Silva Foundation Institute promoted, from 24th to 26th March, the Bernardo Ferrão and the Decorative Arts in the Orient and in the World International Congress. The event also saw the launching of the book, Bernardo Ferrão and the Decorative Arts in the East and in the World. Tribute Studies. A renowned art collector, Bernardo Ferrão (1913-1982) devoted much of his life to the study of Portuguese furniture and ceramics, in particular the Luso-oriental decorative arts in Portugal. For more information, contact the organisation by email amigosdomnsr@gmail.com.

On January 23rd (Sunday), at 4pm, the MNSR hosts the presentation session of the book VOZ PRÓPRIA – Jorge Ginja e Mário Viegas, a publication that includes 2 CDs with the voice of Mário Viegas reciting poetry selected by Jorge Ginja. The recording now made public is more than 50 years old and is the result of a request made by Jorge Ginja to Mário Viegas, when he was 21 years old, to record poetry that he could take to war.
Participating in the presentation session are António Ponte, Director of the MNSR, Laura Castro, Regional Director of Culture of the North, Catarina Ginja, daughter of Jorge Ginja, doctor and former Regional Director of Culture of the North, as well as Manuela Melo and Jorge Campos, the 2 witnesses of the friendship between Jorge Ginja and Mário Viegas in Porto at the Teatro Universitário do Porto and Café Piolho in the 60s.
The book VOZ OWN – Jorge Ginja and Mário Viegas brings together 49 texts by different authors, such as Alexandre O’Neill, José Carlos Ary dos Santos and Manuel Alegre, and the reader will find, at the beginning of each piece of writing, a QR Code to access the recitation from your cell phone.
Available at https://in-libris.com/products/voz-propria-jorge-ginja-e-mario-viegas

The MNSR hosts the Meeting on Volunteering, an initiative by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage to reinforce the contribution of volunteers to the operation of national Museums, Monuments and Palaces. The session features a round table to launch the debate with external institutions such as the Serralves Foundation and the Centro Cultural de Belém and promote the sharing of good practices. The Deputy Secretary of State and Cultural Heritage, Ângela Ferreira, closed the session.

The MNSR hosts the launch session of the book THE INFINITE MAN – Life and Work of Nadir Afonso. The artist’s biography is written by Guilherme Pires, in a work that presents a man without limits, who left Chaves for the world.
Participating in the session are António Ponte, Director of MNSR, Laura Afonso, President of the Nadir Afonso Foundation, Fátima Lambert, from the Porto Higher Education School, and Guilherme Pires.

Based on the exhibition DRAWINGS BY EUROPEAN MASTERS, this drawing workshop proposes a practical approach to some aspects of the representation of the human figure articulated with drapery. Participants will have the opportunity to experience simultaneous seeing and doing: drawing exercises will be carried out in front of the drawings on display and in the presence of a live model, simulating some of the poses observed in master drawings.
Guidance | Ricardo Leite
Target audience | Young people and adults
Participants | Minimum 5 and maximum 15
Registration | disclosure@mnsr.dgpc.pt

António Ponte, Director of the Soares dos Reis National Museum, Pedro Canavarro, Cristina Castel Branco, Mitsutake Ikeda and the publisher, Palimage, promoted the launch of Watanuki Hirosuke’s, Agora Mesmo, Retiro de Catavento (Right Now, Weathervane Retreat). The book recalls the life and work of the Japanese master, who came to Portugal in 1956 and dedicated part of his drawings to Portuguese landscapes. His work can be found in private collections and in national museums, such as the Soares dos Reis National Museum.

In 2021, the Commemorations of the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Amália Rodrigues continued. Amália, after Luísa Todi, is the Portuguese female figure who, to date, has achieved most international recognition. Today, the Portuguese public know her voice and acclaim her as the Queen of Fado. To mark this date, Vox Angelis prepared a Multimedia Show, presenting the main Fados that immortalised Amália’s voice, as well the Fado singer’s life story, with the simultaneous projection of about 200 unpublished photographs. A historical-musical show, it included her most famous songs, such as “Com que voz”, “Que Estranha Forma de Vida”, “Gaivota”, “Cuidei que tinha morrido”, “Lágrima”, “Grito” and “Fado Amália”, with Armandinho and Raul Nery’s sung and instrumental pieces alternating with the narration and projection.

The MNSR, the Círculo Dr. José de Figueiredo – Association of Friends of the MNSR and the publisher Gradiva present the book Os Meus Compatriotas, by Luís Valente de Oliveira, Full Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto.
The publication focuses on Portuguese people spread across the world, who adopt the customs of their host environments but maintain the habits of their homeland, and addresses the high positions they achieve in areas such as science, sport, the arts and even business.

Leading on from the exhibition Blue and Gold – Enamels in Portugal from the Medieval to the Modern Era, the Soares dos Reis National Museum hosted 2 workshops for the production of artistic enamel on metal using wet technique and stencil. During the short workshops, participants experienced this Art of Fire and produced an original piece through applying enamel.
Orientation | Magda Sá
Target Public | Young people and adults
Participants | Minimum 3 and maximum 6
Enrolment | magda.sa@gmail.com
Price | 85 EUR*
*This included materials and use of the equipment necessary for the production of the works. The resulting pieces were the property of the participant.

DGPC and MNSR promote the launch session of the catalog for the exhibition BLUE AND GOLD – Nail Polishes in Portugal from the Medieval to the Modern Period. The catalogue, on sale at the MNSR Store, is the result of an extensive survey carried out in Portuguese public and private collections of enamel objects produced in the Limoges workshops and pieces of goldsmithing made from this material with the most varied manufacturing origins.
It also brings to the public studies developed in recent years and allows pieces belonging to Portuguese collections to be positioned within a European heritage framework.

As part of the program of the THURSDAY NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM initiative, the MNSR, in partnership with the Institut Français, hosts a cinema session with the screening of the documentary LA VILLE LOUVRE. Assuming a parallel with the redefinition of the long-term exhibition, and the consequent absence of audiences, the documentary portrays the behind-the-scenes work at the Louvre, at a time when it was closed to visitors.
The film is shown on September 2nd, at 9:30 pm, in the MNSR Auditorium.

Soares dos Reis National Museum promoted the workshop, Natural jewels, aimed at young people and adults interested in learning about designing terracotta jewellery.

Inspired by the artistic enamels on display and the flora growing around the museum’s perimeter fence and garden, the proposal was to start from careful observation to the creation of a piece of terracotta jewellery. Collecting examples of native flora and recording them in relief and colour led participants through a surprising creative process.

Price | 7 euros
Minimum 4 participants, maximum 8
Enrolments | se@mnsr.dgpc.pt

The SUL trio, composed of Luís Figueiredo on piano, Bernardo Moreira on double bass and Bernardo Couto on Portuguese guitar, brings to the MNSR Auditorium a selection of music made in Portugal, including fados, jazz compositions and traditional songs by some of the most prominent composers in Portugal, such as Carlos Paredes, Zeca Afonso, Mário Laginha and João Paulo Esteves da Silva.

The concert is part of the Tempos Cruzados Festival program , which brings together in partnership the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, through the MNSR, and the Municipalities of Caminha, Chaves and Vila Nova de Gaia. It is a networked cultural programming initiative, financed by NORTE 2020, in the context of support from Portugal 2020 and the European Regional Development Fund.

Free entry, no registration.

The MNSR marks Science and Technology Week 2022, promoted by Ciência Viva – National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture, with conservation and restoration activities. Based on the study of materials and their behavior over time, the MNSR presents in two workshops – one aimed at children aged 6 to 10 and the other for adults – examples of materials, artistic techniques and theoretical notions about procedures and methodologies of conservation.

A classical group of violin, cello and piano formed by the musicians Nuno Meira, Américo Martins and Isolda Crespi, the IBERTRIO presented the concert, Piazzolla at the Soares dos Reis National Museum. The concert was part of the Tempos Cruzados Festival, and came about through the partnership of the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, the Soares dos Reis National Museum, and the Municipalities of Caminha, Chaves and Vila Nova de Gaia. This cultural programming network initiative was funded by NORTE 2020, supported by Portugal 2020 and the European Regional Development Fund.

Entry is free, with no booking required.

The temporary exhibition, Be it day or night, it matters not was the starting point for a family morning at the Museum. The team from the Education Service led a tour, which included paintings by Pedro Calapez and photographs by André Gomes, of the works of Artur Loureiro, a 19th century naturalist painter featured in the Soares dos Reis National Museum collection. Throughout the visit, families carried out activities that brought adults and children together, enabling highly personal imagery to be built around the exhibition content.