A visit to the Bordalo Pinheiro Museum reveals a rich and inviting world of imagination to explore: inside, there is an entire realm that mimics life and takes us to places of enchantment and realities that are still close to us. Animals roam loose alongside verses from Camões; we stumble over plants; we taste, with our eyes, dishes brimming with fruits, vegetables and fish. We travel between continents.
We make the acquaintance of a multitude of characters and types awaiting discovery by the sharp-eyed visitor: those who work, those who shut their eyes to it all, those who deceive with more or less meek speech, those who get angry… And even those who sleep. There is colour and joy, but also, at times, an unexpected sobriety – both in the ceramic pieces and in the artist’s graphic work. Those willing to discover meet with surprise, punctuated by laughter.
The museum’s activities cover all kinds of groups, providing informal or thematic visits, workshops, courses, salons, presentations, shows. We invite you to interpret the historic and artistic significance of Bordalo’s work and to understand the values that underlie it: conscious citizenship and critical thought – always with humour in the foreground.
These values, fundamental in Bordalo’s work, form one of the most serious challenges proposed by contemporary education. With this in mind, for schools, and in connection with the current curricular goals, there is a sub-group of activities based on an inter-disciplinary approach to the visual arts, literature, music, the environment, philosophy, ethics, humour and ethnography.
Visits, workshops and educational activities for school groups have the ultimate aim of building bridges and forging closer relationships with the museum, stimulating the acquisition of personal skills that enhance creativity, autonomy, critical thought and freedom of expression. After all, this is a key part of Bordalo’s world, so full of originality and talent.
We hope that once you have visited this museum, it will become another home for you in Lisbon, a place you will want to return to and feel welcome again.