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Museu Interativo / Interactive Museum

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. 

Praço público com pessoas e uma bola
Last autumn I was visiting the Portuguese Photography Centre. I saw three boys with a football in the square (Largo Amor de Perdição) in front of the building. They were booting it high in the air close to the museum windows. 

The three museum employees at the entrance had a good view of the square and the building's facade so I was interested to see how they would respond. They had a gruff approach to visitors so I expected that would also extend to urban football. 

Museums often stand watch over public spaces, and public spaces always have multiple and simultaneous uses. How these competing uses are negotiated or balanced or policed says a lot about public space and the right to the city. 

By now the boys had perfected their aim. They were bouncing the ball off the walls near the windows on the second storey. Sometimes they hit the windows themselves; this might have been part of the game. The museum employees gave no sign they heard the thudding of the ball or that they saw the game. And I went and looked at the photos inside with a richer idea of how you can use a museum.
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  1. AnonymousMay 2, 2024 at 4:24 PM

    CRASH!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ericaMay 9, 2024 at 9:03 AM

    Gostei do post e concordo com as suas ideias sobre o "direito à cidade".

    Uma nota: sendo que em Portugal o futebol manda, pergunto-me: se os miúdos estivessem a andar de skate, ou a tocar música... a reação dos funcionarios poderia ter sido diferente?

    ReplyDelete

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