Cercal Village

Union of Parish Councils of Lamas and Cercal, Municipality of Cadaval, Portugal

The village of Cercal – located near Serra de Montejunto – was historically marked by the visit of Queen Maria I, who ordered the construction of a fountain on her visit: the 18th century Chafariz do Cercal. In the past, this village was also known for being a land of blacksmiths, as this was one of the main trades of the region. Another fundamental activity for the subsistence of the population was agriculture, in which men and women had equivalent functions. The inhabitants of this village assure us that Cercal had a good chicken soup and that a ‘little woman was always looking for the good chickens’. Friendship has always played a role at the heart of the village, where, in the summer, the Festa em Honra da Nossa Senhora da Visitação (Celebration in Honour of Our Lady of Visitation) brought the community together and enlivened it.

see location
Cercal Village, Municipality of Cadaval

Cultivating Friendship

The artwork ‘Cultivar a Amizade’ (Cultivating Friendship) is composed of a set of small clay sculptures modelled by the Cercal community and transformed into ceramics by the CENCAL – Alcobaça team. These pieces represent seeds of various qualities and symbolise a type of crop considered essential to the community: friendship. Whether between family members, neighbours or people who are some distance apart, a good and healthy friendship is a sign that life is growing and flourishing within us. The artwork ‘Cultivar a Amizade’ represents – in a creative, unique and collective way – the development of human relationships in the eyes and hands of each participant.

Cultivating Friendship – Collective artwork created by the community of Cercal, in the Municipality of Cadaval, on display at the Figueiró dos Vinhos Art Center

Cultivating Friendship

Cercal, Cadaval, 2022
White ceramic

This artwork is a collective creation made by the community of Cercal (Cadaval),
as part of the ‘Museu na Aldeia’ project.

José Marques | Maria Leonilde | Maria Sofia | Sofia Silva

Technical support: CENCAL – Alcobaça

view artwork
Cultivating Friendship – Detail of the collective artwork created by the community of Cercal, in the Municipality of Cadaval

Museum-Village Route map

The Museum in the Village Project has transcended geographical boundaries by bringing together museums and villages from 26 different municipalities in Portugal. The map highlights the three participating regions and reveals the route between the museum and the village, where Cultural Heritage acts as a bridge to bring together municipalities, celebrate traditions and enhance territorial cohesion.

When I am with you, I always think that I am developing the child inside me.

Carla Martins
Technician of the Municipal Museum of Cadaval, Municipality of Cadaval

I really liked seeing the tiny little pieces they made (…) Leonilde’s work represented her daughters, (…) All conviviality helps people to stick together. (…) We start to isolate ourselves at home and then the days become even greyer than they already are sometimes.

Neli Duarte
Participant of the Community of Cercal, Municipality of Cadaval

The isolation of the populations is very great and it got even worse with the pandemic, but the persistence of the entertainers was fundamental for social conviviality, resulting in an opening of their hearts and showing what was hidden there.

Amélia Silva
President of the Parish Council of Lamas and Cercal, Municipality of Cadaval

The day we actually welcomed this wonderful group to our Museum and Art Centre, you could tell that everyone was really feeling the project itself. And the presentation that they did, that moved both the people who participated and the people who were on the other side watching. And I also remember the words of the councillor, Dr Marta Bráz, who also conveyed the emotion and, in fact, was inside the project, but it was really the eyes themselves that saw and really felt the way people were motivated and were inside the project. And we really felt that it was a day of celebration. It was a day of celebration for everybody. Everyone who was there both watching and participating (…)

Paula Carmo Mendes
Museu e Centro de Artes de Figueiró dos Vinhos, Municipality of Figueiró dos Vinhos

Exhibitions Credits

  • Cultural Promoter
    SAMP – Sociedade Artística Musical dos Pousos
  • Co-financier
    Iniciativa Portugal Inovação Social
    Programa Operacional Social e de Emprego (PO ISE)
    Portugal 2020
    Fundo Social Europeu (FSE)
  • Social investor
    Câmara Municipal de Leiria
    Partner
    Rede Cultura 2027
  • In collaboration with
    Município do Cadaval
    Município de Figueiró dos Vinhos
    Museu e Centro de Artes de Figueiró dos Vinhos
    Junta de Freguesia de Lamas e Cercal
    União de Freguesias de Leiria, Pousos, Barreira e Cortes
  • Museums Working Group for “Rede Cultura 2027”
    Alberto Guerreiro | Museu Raul da Bernarda
    Sónia Santos | Município de Ourém
    Bruno Silva | Rede de Museus e Galerias de Óbidos
    Dóris Santos | Museu Dr. Joaquim Manso
    Filipe Guimarães da Silva | Fundação Mário Soares e Maria Barroso
    Jorge Figueiredo | Município de Porto de Mós
    Luís Figueiredo | Museu Damião de Góis e das Vítimas da Inquisição
    Margarida Moleiro | Museu Municipal Carlos Reis
    Raquel Janeirinho | Rede Museológica do Concelho de Peniche
    Vânia Carvalho | Museu de Leiria
  • The 13 Villages
    Alcanadas (Batalha) | Louriceira de Cima (Arruda dos Vinhos) | Ateanha (Ansião) | Cabeças (Alvaiázere) | Cercal (Cadaval) | Columbeira (Bombarral) | Fanhais (Nazaré) | Freixianda (Ourém) | Folgarosa (Torres Vedras) | Mosteiro (Pedrógão Grande) | São Bento (Porto de Mós) | Fetelaria (Sobral de Monte Agraço) | Pena e Casal da Pena (Torres Novas)
  • The 13 museums
    Casa do Tempo (Castanheira de Pera) | Centro de Artes Caldas da Rainha | Centro de Estudos em Fotografia de Tomar | Rede de Museus e Galerias de Óbidos | Museu de Arte Popular Portuguesa (Pombal) | Museu da Lourinhã | Museu de Aguarela Roque Gameiro (Alcanena) | Museu de Leiria | Museu do Vidro (Marinha Grande) | Museu e Centro de Artes de Figueiró dos Vinhos | Museu Damião de Góis e das Vítimas da Inquisição (Alenquer) | Museu Raul da Bernarda (Alcobaça) | Rede Museológica do Concelho de Peniche.

    The project also had the collaboration of museums from the 26 participating municipalities.
  • SAMP Contigo | Coordination
    Raquel Gomes
  • Museu na Aldeia | Coordination
    Gabriela da Rocha
    Sofia Neves
  • Museu na Aldeia | Teams of the project
    • SAMP | Technical team
      SAMP | Artistic team
      Bruno Homem | Musician
      Filipa Cunha | Musician
      Inesa Markava | Artistic Performance Director
      Jesus Kristen | Musician
      Raquel Gomes | Community Artist
      Ruben Santos | Musician
      Sofia Neves | Actress
    • SAMP | Technical team
      Ana Figueiredo | Communication and Content Manager
      Cátia Gaio | Logistic and Financial Support
      Gabriela da Rocha | Museologist
      Henrique Chaves | Sociologist
      Lara Matos | Degree in Social Psychology
      Leonor Capricho | Graphic Designer
      Ismael Neves | Logistic and Financial Support
      Telma Pereira | Production
    • Texts
      Ana Figueiredo | SAMP
      Carla Tomás | Museu da Lourinhã
      Gabriela da Rocha | SAMP
      Henrique Chaves | SAMP
      Sofia Neves | SAMP
    • Photography credits
      SAMP Team
      Gil de Lemos
    • Museography and exhibition set-up
      Inês Soares e Lorenzo Scodeller | Novonovo
      Gabriela da Rocha | SAMP
      Miguel Serra | Museu e Centro de Artes
      Paula Mendes | Museu e Centro de Artes
      Telma Pereira | SAMP
    • Design gráfico | Graphic design
      Henrique Martinowski
      Leonor Capricho | SAMP
    • Exhibition equipment design
      Paolo Martini | Novonovo
      Artymanha | Welding service
      Nelson Cunha
    • Insurance of the artwork
      LUSITANIA, Companhia de Seguros, SA
    • Specialised transportation of the artwork
      RNTrans – Grupo URBANOS
    • Technical support | Ceramic kiln
      Filipe Aguiar | CENCAL Alcobaça
      Vera Fortes | CENCAL Alcobaça
    • Acknowledgements
      Comunidade de Cercal
      Município de Cadaval
      Museu e Centro de Artes de Figueiró dos Vinhos
      Junta de Freguesia de Lamas e Cercal
      Associação Cultural Recreativa Desportiva do Cercal
      Espaço Trabuca
      Museu Municipal do Cadaval
      Centro de Formação Profissional para a Indústria Cerâmica de Alcobaça (CENCAL)
      Politécnico de Leiria
      União das Freguesias de Leiria, Pousos, Barreira e Cortes
      ANAFS – Associação Nacional dos Alistados das Formações Sanitárias

Collaborators

Other villages