Fabulous travel photographer and world explorer Praxinho aka Praxi Deluxe brought some great photo material from his travels to the Portuguese island Madeira. Thanks a lot for the contribution! Check out the photos and additional information, as well we integrated an interview with the collective behind the project „artE pORtas abErtas“. Let us introduce you to the painted doors on Madeira.
The city of Funchal is located in the eastern part of the Atlantic ocean and is the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira, which is about 710 km off the Moroccan coast at equator height. In the cozy town you can find smaller urban works of art and larger murals in many spots, but a very special place is the Rua de Santa Maria with the adjacent streets. Artists have brought the once run-down and half-ruined district back to life with a creative and colorful project: the “Projecto artE pORtas abErtas” which means “Open Door Project”.
The artists started in with the first door in April 2011 and after that almost every doorstep in the street(s) was embellished in creative and very different ways. There are now over 200 painted doors, new ones are added every now and then and the collection is growing and expanding to the surrounding courners. This of course not only attracted tourists and street art fans, but also other artists, curators and galerists or just creative minds. Over the years, the quarter has transformed into a kind of small artists’ quarter.
The initiator of this idea was the local artist JOSÉ MARIA MONTERO ZYBERCHEMA, who motivated other artists and involved them into the idea . The village of Valloria in Italy, where a similar art project with door paintings was implemented as early as 1994, served as a model for the creative plan. It all started with door number 207 on Rua da Carreira, which was redesigned by MARTINHO MENDES. After that, the art initiative was officially launched for Rua Santa Maria. In the alleys and on the doors of Funchal, however, not only are doors painted, photography, sculptures and video installations are also integrated.
When visiting the island, exploring Rua Santa Maria and the area around is simply a must. The road runs a bit away from the sea right through the historical core – also called “Zona Velha” – and branches off from Rua Profetas. The painted doors of the port city of Funchal can also be found in the adjacent streets and there are already a considerable number of large murals spread over the whole place.
The project “Projecto artE pORtas abErtas” or “Open Doors Project” not only embellished the house entrances in a picturesque way, it really opened new doors in many directions. Art is generally a door opener and the viewer enters a new world with every picture. But this project has also given the residents and the local scene a lot of impetus and opened doors. It has attracted more artists to the island and new projects and collaborations have emerged. Art and color open doors.
The following questions and answers are from the website of the collective behind the „artE pORtas abErtas“ and they explain their project:
What is the “ArT of opEN doors project” in Rua de Santa Maria of Funchal?
It is a project to open the doors of the city of Funchal to art and culture. They were not “virtual entrances” rather old and forgotten. These doors are from abandoned shops and deteriorated areas that take on new life, in order to sensitize people filling the streets with cultural and artistic events. These interventions include all the visual arts, from painting, sculpture, photography, video, music and writing. It is an intervention that is not intended vandalize or be transgressive with the everyday life of the city. Although every artist always wants to be innovative and “groundbreaking”. This is part of a “wakeup call” that any work of art exerts on the audience who sees it.
The idea for this project, where did it come from?
After walking several times by the old town of the city of Funchal and take pictures of what I saw, people wondered why I only photographed things “old and deteriorating” and my answer was that “I photograph what I see.” So in August of 2010 I was invited to an event called PechaKucha to present the project “art of the open doors”. The first door in which an intervention took place was in the number 207 of Carreira Street in Funchal by Martinho Mendes on August 20th, of 2010. I must say that from the beginning I had the support of artists and people linked to culture as, Helena Berenguer, Antonio Cruz, Martinho Mendes, Rui Soares, Luis Filipe, and Paulo Sergio Beju. With whom I’ve had several work meetings during the month of August 2010. The project was proposed to the city hall, but remained “on hold” until the opening of the “Tasca Literaria Dona Joana Rabo de Peixe” of Joao Carlos Abreu, former Secretary of Tourism, who was interested in the project, gave his support and with his help we started on Rua Santa Maria acting as liaison with the municipality to carry it out this artistic movement. The chamber of Funchal, after that, approves and supports “art of the open doors” providing inks for the work of the artists. Thus began the task of “bringing new life” to the gates of this historic part of Funchal.
When was the first door painted?
The first door to be painted in the Rua Santa Maria was on April, the 6th, of 2011 at number 77 by the artist Mark Milewski. It took longer than 1 month to be completed, since the technique used by the artist is very laborious. Although, the first artistic intervention was completed by Gonçalo Martins at number 81-83 of Santa Maria street. He began his work on April, the 9th of 2011 and was completed on the same day.
Did you ever imagined that the project would eventually be embraced by the people and rely on volunteer participation?
The project started “slowly” because in the beginning there was a lot of reluctance and mistrust of the people in the street. It was difficult to contact each of the owners and go asking for permission to make interventions. Artists of the island of Madeira were invited to participate, but at the beginning and even now there are some reluctance to “blend in” with minor “reputed” artists. Keep in mind that this project is “open” to any citizen who is willing to offer his creativity to the city of Funchal to revitalize this very poor area of town. All that is asked is respect for the surroundings and to the other participants. I must say that from the beginning it was clear that this project would have wide acceptance and impact on the life of the island, since there is much creativity and the good will of the population. All I had to do is “turn in the spark” to start this “Fiesta” of light and color in the street…
Do you think the “art of painted doors” will eventually spread to other streets?
It started one day in 1994 in the streets of an Italian town of Valloire and now we are on Rua Santa Maria and nearby roads. Who knows if painted doors cannot appear in other streets of Funchal and why not in other populated areas of the island. Now my mind is on “other projects” that I’ll be launching soon.
>>> Questions and answers are from „Projecto artE pORtas abErtas“ <<<
INFOTHEK
Art Project: PROJECTO ARTE PORTAS ABERTAS
Website: http://www.arteportasabertas.com
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ruasantamaria/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/APortasAbertas
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zyberchema/collections/72157626453913440/
Visit Madeira: http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/explore/detalhe/painted-doors-project
Artist: MARCOS MILEWSKI
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marcos-Milewski-1424950381076098
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcos.milewski
Artist: BORDALO II
Website: http://bordaloii.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BORDALOII
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b0rdalo_ii
Photographer: PRAXI DELUXE aka PRAXINHO
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prxdlx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/praxinho
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJJ92tWIMrbL5T6Ur4rjlMA
Profile Page: https://vagabundler.com/culturists/praxi-deluxe
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