Living not at home

In March I met Inês Pina, the Education Coordinator (Arts) at Serralves. We spoke about festivals, drawing on the school desks, and how to connect multiple and diverse opinions on art. The conversation started in the education studio and then continued during a quick tour of the galleries. Inês showed me the new wing and the two artworks that she’d picked in answer to my final two questions.  Lawrence Bradby: In the UK I worked in gallery education. I’m interested in learning about the culture of gallery education here in Portugal. How does it operate? What are its priorities? What are its rewards? So my first question is about your experience of the job: what’s the most enjoyable project you’ve worked on at Serralves? Inês Pina: I started working at Serralves in February 2023. Within all the projects over the last year there were two that I particularly enjoyed. One was Serralves em Festa . It’s a huge celebration, a free 50-hour non-stop festival. There are many many people insid...

No outono passado, estava a visitar o Centro Português de Fotografia . Em frente ao edifício, no Largo Amor de Perdição, vi três miúdos com uma bola. Estavam a chutar a bola para o ar, perto das janelas do museu.  Os três funcionários na entrada museu tinham uma boa vista da praça e da fachada do edifício, pelo que estava interessado em ver como reagiriam aos três rapazes.  Os espaços públicos têm sempre utilizações múltiplas e simultâneas. A forma como estas utilizações concorrentes são negociadas ou fiscalizadas diz muito sobre o espaço público e o direito à cidade .  Por esta altura, os miúdos estavam a chutar a bola contra as paredes do segundo andar. Por vezes, acertavam nas janelas e isso talvez fizesse parte do jogo. Os funcionários do museu não deram qualquer sinal de terem ouvido o bater da bola ou de terem visto o jogo. E eu fui ver as fotografias do interior com uma ideia mais rica de como se pode utilizar um museu.  Last autumn I was visiting the Portugue...

Nettie Burnett has had countless shows in galleries in Portugal, the UK and elsewhere.  (I asked her how many and she told me she'd lost count). She works on a large scale, making drawings that are both delicate and powerful. Many of these drawings show mature trees often seen from low down or directly beneath so the viewer is awed and at the same time drawn up into the detail. Nettie also works in sculpture and artists’ books. A friend introduced us to Nettie before we moved from the UK; she was one of the first artists in Portugal who we had a connection with.  Lawrence: When and where did you first show your artwork in Portugal? Nettie: I first showed work at Cooperativa Árvore in 2001. It was a shared show with Bartolomeu dos Santos who at the time was head of Printmaking at Central St Martins . (I sold most of my work at that show – doesn’t happen so much nowadays, more’s the pity!) L: Roughly how many different galleries have you shown at since the start of your caree...

Rose Feather is an illustrator, picture book maker and arts facilitator. A few years ago Rose and me worked together in the Learning Team of a museum in Norwich (the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Art). Rose left that job and now works freelance . Last month we had a video call where she told me about her approach to collaboration, about deep listening, and about how drawing and words compete for her attention. Lawrence:  What are you working on at the moment? Rose:  I’ve got a project coming up in Stowmarket this year, making a book with some primary school children, all about the theme of tomorrow. I’m thinking possibly utopia/dystopia. This’ll be my fourth participatory picture book. As I’ve gone on they seem to be more meaningfully collaborative. And my voice gets quieter every time, which I quite like.  L:  How do you begin a collaborative project? R:  Usually I meet the children and the adults together. We never really sit down and say how are we going to ma...

This was written in May 2021. The severe restrictions of the pandemic were being eased. Our children had been at school for over six months. It was hard to make friends during this time.  Monday. Late afternoon. Covid has closed the school for a week. We wander the town, my daughter ad-libbing a spy game with roles for us both.     Come on! Run!  The whole town’s gonna blow!    We’ve gotta find where he’s hidden the bomb.     Get down! He’ll see us. My additions to the dialogue are not taken up. That’s ok. I like the blend of physical action and mental passivity. I can play along.  We’re near the museum when there’s a heavy rain shower.  What about the ancient coins? I say. He’ll try to get them.   This time I’ve got it right: that’s exactly what our arch-enemy would do. My daughter leads the way into the museum foyer. The woman on reception smiles and opens the electrical cupboard to switch on the lights in the three gallerie...

Isto foi escrito em maio de 2021. As medidas da pandemia estavam a ser reduzidas. Os nossos filhos tinham estado na escola durante mais de seis meses. Foi difícil fazer amigos durante este tempo.  Segunda-feira. Fim da tarde. Covid-19 fechou a escola durante uma semana. Andamos pela cidade, a minha filha improvisa um jogo de espionagem para nós dois.       Vamos lá! Corre!  A cidade inteira vai explodir!     Temos de encontrar onde ele escondeu a bomba.      Baixem-se! Ele vai ver-nos. A minha filha não usa as minhas sugestões para o jogo. Não faz mal. Gosto da mistura de acção física e passividade mental.  Estamos perto do museu quando começa uma forte aguaceira.  E as moedas velhas? digo. Ele vai tentar apanhá-las.   Desta vez acerto: é exactamente isso que o nosso arqui-inimigo faria. A minha filha lidera o caminho para o foyer do museu. A mulher na recepção sorri e liga as luzes nas três salas. Depois, ela liga t...