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VILLAGE ARTWORK

Alcanadas visits the Lourinhã Museum

The exhibition presented by the Museum of Lourinhã in the village of Alcanadas led the community to reflect on what they would like to save today, resulting in the creation “Ark of Salvation”. The participants thus honour the name of their village, which originates from the legend of Noah’s Ark and serves as a shelter for objects, memories and messages of hope.

The presentation of specimens that portray the extinction of life on Earth, which were temporarily lent by Museu da Lourinhã, invited the community of Alcanadas to reflect on what they would like to save nowadays. The work entitled “Arca da Salvação” (Ark of Salvation), was created by the community, together with municipal partners, museum professionals and the SAMP team, and is a tribute to the legend associated with the origin of the village’s name. Built with wood that was recycled from previous exhibitions of the project, this artwork, just like Noah’s Ark, ensures the salvation of unique specimens. More than the result of a collective work, this ark is a shelter for the individual imagination of each creator and a vehicle for sharing stories, legends, wishes and messages of hope for humanity.

Ark of Salvation

Alcanadas, Portugal, 2022

Sculpture

Wood, various objects, photographs and lace. This artwork is a collective creation made by the community of Alcanadas, from Municipality of Batalha, as part of project “Museu na Aldeia” (Museum in the Village).

Dionísio Vieira | Irene Carreira | Isilda Vieira | Joaquim Franco | Júlia Vieira | Natércia Matos | Noémia Meneses | Odete Franco | Palmira Frasão | Preciosa Franco | Rosinda Vieira Franco Virgílio Batista Franco | Zulmira Vieira

Technical support: Artymanha

aLCANADAS

Parish Council of Batalha and Parish Council of Reguengo do Fetal, Municipality of Batalha

The name of the village refers back to Noah’s Ark, which crashed into the hill where the village of Alcanadas now stands. In honour of this legend, there is a monument in the village with a sign indicating where Noah’s Ark
ran aground. Another explanation for the origin of the name “Alcanadas” was the Arab occupation that lasted several centuries in the region. The history of the village also includes mining activities, which occurred between the 19th and 20th centuries. This sector employed both men and women, with the men working inside the mines and the women sorting coal outside. This activity ceased after World War II, giving way to farming, which became the main economic occupation in the region.

An asteroid and an ark: the saga of life on Earth

The artwork that visited the Village

Museu da Lourinhã goes to Alcanadas

Museu da Lourinhã presented museum exhibits that explore the extinction of dinosaurs in the village of Alcanadas, municipality of Batalha. The exhibition was held at the Primary School and it was supported by the community, who helped preserve and promote it. The collection was composed of a meteorite and replicas of living creatures that walked the face of the Earth before the collision of the asteroid that marked the end of the Jurassic Period (150 million years ago). This also included a block composed of a sequence of rocks that represent the transition between the Cretaceous and the Palaeogene period – around 66 million years old. All the elements illustrate the dramatic changes the world went through, the extinction of various species of plants and animals that used to dominate the planet and the origin of new species, such as mammals.

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Meetings and Sharing

The Community welcomes an artwork from the Museum, inviting it into the heart of their village. This object becomes a catalyst, inspiring museum professionals and the artistic team to engage participants in a collaborative process. Together, they establish connections between the museum artwork, its reflection, and its ties to local heritage. Using local elements such as objects, songs, stories, and traditions, participants craft their own artwork. The celebration reaches its peak with the inauguration of a temporary exhibition in the museum. An artistic performance fosters connections among communities and museum professionals, strengthening bonds between them.

And so it was… Art as an invitation for encounters and connections.

Testimonials

I liked it when we had the artwork from Museu da Lourinhã here. We arranged a group of people and every week two of us would come and we always brought a snack. And we would spend Sunday afternoons socialising, because thankfully a lot of people would always come to visit. We would explain the origin of what was in the exhibition and at the end we went for a snack. We socialised with each other.

Rosinda Vieira Franco, Community of Alcanadas, Municipality of Batalha.

Well, let more people come to our village, so we can continue to have a bit of a different daily life, which is very important. Because in the past, there was a lot of neighborliness, and now socializing is more over the phone or on Facebook. I don’t have anything against that, but you see people talking less, and there are a lot fewer people, right?! I think dialogue is increasingly important, and there are fewer opportunities for it.


Noémia Cerejo Meneses, community of Alcanadas, Municipality of Batalh

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 da Batalha
    Município da Lourinhã
    GEAL – Grupo de Etnologia e Arqueologia da Lourinhã
    Museu da Lourinhã
    União de Freguesias de Leiria, Pousos, Barreira e Cortes
  • Museums Working Group for project “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 | Artistic team
      Bruno Homem | Musician
      Filipa Cunha | Music
      Inesa Markava | Artistic Director of Performances
      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 | Graduate 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
      Carla Abreu | Museu da Lourinhã
      Carla Tomás | Museu da Lourinhã
      Câmara Municipal da Lourinhã
      Gabriela da Rocha | SAMP
      Inês Soares | Novonovo
      Lorenzo Scodeller | Novonovo
    • Graphic design
      Leonor Capricho | SAMP
    • Exhibition equipment design
      Paolo Martini | Novonovo
    • Carpentry service and ark design
      Artymanha
    • Insurance of the artwork
      LUSITANIA, Companhia de Seguros, SA
    • Acknowledgements
      Comunidade de Alcanadas
      Dulce Vieira e José Vieira
      Centro Recreativo de Alcanadas
      Museu da Comunidade Concelhia da Batalha
      Politécnico de Leiria
      União de Freguesias de Leiria, Pousos, Barreira e Cortes
      ANAFS – Associação Nacional de Alistados das Formações Sanitárias

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