“The Future of the Fábrica do Inglês Cork Museum” is the theme of a forum that will take place on February 20, between 9:30 am and 18:30 pm, at Teatro Mascarenhas Gregório, in Silves.
Organized by the Portuguese Association of Industrial Archeology (APAI) and the Portuguese Association of Museology (APOM), this event has the support of the Municipality of Silves.
The initiative aims to promote a broad debate, involving civil society and entities with responsibilities in the area of heritage and culture, with the objective of «finding and defining the future solution for the reopening of the Cork Museum of Fábrica do Inglês in Silves, valuing its role in the context of Portuguese museology». Furthermore, this forum will seek to «reaffirm the authenticity value of its cultural heritage, as a whole, and as a built-up space and industrial museum», as well as «creating synergies for a commitment to museum management that affirms its national and international public interest”.
The program foresees the participation of representatives from various entities, namely the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve, from the International Council of Museums (ICOM- Portugal) and Maximo Negri, from European Museum Academy. Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Grupo Nogueira, the current owners of the Fábrica do Inglês space, will also intervene.
The event is open to everyone and there is no registration fee. This should be done through the email [email protected] or the telephone 282 440 854.
Cork Museum – a troubled history
The Cork Museum was inaugurated in 1999, promoting the rehabilitation of the original architectural space of an old cork factory built in 1894, also known as Fábrica do Inglês.
The museological project, which included the entire factory space, was internationally recognized with the Luigi Micheletti award for best industrial museum of the year in 2001.
Between 1999 and 2009, the period in which it remained open, «it was one of the most visited museums nationwide, contributing positively to the good image of the Algarve region and the country, in a thematic and economic area – cork – that projects us internationally and in which, precisely, we claim primacy».
The Museum and the former factory in which it is located (now a building of municipal interest) have been closed since 2009, following the insolvency process of the owner company.
In 2014, this process ended in a public auction with the sale of the “Fábrica do Inglês” property to Caixa Geral de Depósitos and the museum collection (some of it integrated in the building itself) to a private group linked to the food distribution sector, Grupo Nogueira , «despite the efforts of the Municipality of Silves to acquire it».
Na public auction of May 30, 2014, Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) bought the Fábrica do Inglês property for 2.239.600 euros, while the estate of the Cork Museum, which operated in one of the building's wings, in which the Silves City Council was interested, ended up being purchased by Grupo Nogueira, current owner of the Alisuper Supermarkets and, in this way, also a major creditor of the bankrupt Grupo Alicoop/Alisuper, which in 1999 transformed the former cork factory into a restaurant and leisure space.
At the auction, the Sul Informação watched, the museological estate was still disputed between the Chamber of Silves and the Nogueira Group, but the latter ended up doing the final bidding, for 36 thousand euros.
Speaking to our newspaper, João Nogueira, administrator of Grupo Nogueira, assured that his intention is «maintain and reopen the Cork Museum as soon as possible».
But in July 2014, in statements to the Público newspaper, the manager went further: "We want to open the museum there or elsewhere".
Now, this possibility of moving the museum's collection of pieces and documents to another location left museologists and heritage defenders in shock. “This Cork Museum cannot be built anywhere else but where it is”.
Therefore, in September 2014, the Portuguese Association of Industrial Archeology launched the Public Petition «for the preservation of the integrity of the Fábrica do Inglês/Cortiça Museum of Silves as an industrial/cork producer cultural value», having also promoted a concentration at the door of Fábrica do Inglês, in Silves, on the 19th of July of that year.
Since then, the topic has never been heard from, nor is it known what the current plans are for either Caixa Geral de Depósitos or Grupo Nogueira.
Program:
MORNING SESSION - 9:30 am-13:00 pm
9:30 am to 10:00 am – Reception of stakeholders and participants
10:00-10:15 – Opening of the Forum. Presentation of moderators. Framework for the functioning of the Forum.
10:15-10:45 – Intervention by the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve
10:45-11:15 – Intervention by the Municipality of Silves
11:15am-11:30am – Intervention by ICOM- Portugal
11:30am-11:45am – Coffee Break
11:45 am-12:15 am – CGD intervention – Caixa Geral de Depósitos
12:15-12:45 – Intervention by Grupo Nogueira SA
12:45-13:30 pm – Visit to the former factory grounds and Cork Museum at Fábrica do Inglês
free lunch
AFTERNOON SESSION - 15:00-18:30
15:30 pm-16:00 pm – Special intervention: Maximo Negri – European Museum Academy
16:00-16:30 – APOM intervention
16:30 pm-17:00 pm – APAI Intervention
17:00-17:15 – Final summary. Conclusions. Preparation of the debate.
17:15 pm-17:30 pm – Coffee break
17:30 pm-18:30 pm – Intervention by Forum participants
18:30 pm – Closing of the Forum
Organization: APAI – Portuguese Association of Industrial Archeology and APOM – Portuguese Association of Museology
Support: Silves City Council
Partnerships: DRCA – Regional Directorate for Culture of the Algarve; DGPC – Portuguese Museum Network; CGD – Caixa Geral de Depósitos; Grupo Nogueira SA; ICOM-Portugal
Presenters. Moderators: Maria da Luz Sampaio | Manuel Vilas Boas, TSF
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