Eleven streets in the town of Messines were covered by an artistic intervention within the scope of the “A Arte do Latoeiro” project, which aims to reactivate the craft of tin making in the municipality of Silves. It is an itinerary that intends to contribute to rekindle the community's deep-rooted memories related to this craft, its artisans and the very identity of the village.
The route opens on August 24, at 18:30 pm (meeting point at the Museum of Traditions) and includes an entertainment program, which includes a whistle workshop led by the new tinsmiths.
The route was born from a social design intervention and was built with the participation of the local community and the new tinsmiths trained for this purpose, who executed the pieces using ancient techniques in a reinterpretation of the craft, which was inspired by elements of local heritage and experiences.
The tin factory is assumed in this intervention as an identity factor, but also as an activity with the potential to assert itself and position São Bartolomeu de Messines as a pole of tin factory in the future.
In the Algarve (and also nationally), the art of tin making is at risk of extinction, due to the devaluation and disinvestment that this activity has witnessed in recent decades, which has impeded the renewal of artisans and their capacity to adapt to the times current.
In 2017, the TASA/Proactivetur Project, in partnership with the Municipality of Silves and support from EDP (Project “The art of the tinsmith” – Traditions Programme), succeeded train four new tinsmiths in a master-apprentice knowledge transmission model.
A line of contemporary tinware products was created. Workshops were held with schools and the community giving the opportunity to experience the materials and techniques of the tinsmith.
The video taken documents the process in which apprentices learn from the master, replicating what was the usual practice in the preparation of new craftsmen and artisans.
In the second phase, to run until September 2018, the intervention is consolidated by strengthening the training of new tinsmiths, supporting the sustainability of the activity, more active and direct involvement of the community with the purpose of making tinsmithing a living tradition, that the village lives.
O TASA Project is an initiative of CCDR Algarve, with the aim of affirming handicraft as a profession with a future in the Algarve. The project has been managed by Proactivetur since 2013, within the scope of a collaboration protocol between both entities, free of charge for CCDR Algarve.
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