Artists «return to the life that was suspended» with a collective exhibition in a solar Faro

«Return to the Future»: this is the title of the collective art exhibition that opens this Saturday, June 13, at the headquarters of Associação 289, in the manor located in Pontes de Marchil, outside Faro.

«To get to this title we had a lot of internal discussion, via zoom. We wanted a title that didn't talk about Covid, or confinement, or social distance. We wanted a title with more hope, with “let's go ahead”, explains Tiago Batista, one of the directors of 289 (and one of the artists participating in the exhibition).

In an exhibition that aims to mark the return of the Algarve artistic community, after the forced withdrawal of recent months, 57 artists from all over the Algarve are participating (from Olhão, Tavira, Monte Gordo, Lagos, Loulé, Quarteira, Lisbon and Faro) as well as some from outside the region. «This time, it's a little more than the usual suspects: we have from people who have never exhibited, to famous people», such as Pedro Cabrita Reis, Rui Sanches or Xana.

In addition, this time, in addition to 289 members, the invitation was extended to LAC – Creative Activities Laboratory, the other Algarve collective that, in Lagos, is also dedicated to contemporary art.

"The idea is to bring the whole community together and show our work again, return to the life that was suspended during these more recent times," added Tiago Batista.

Ana Rostrom, another of the plastic artists participating in the exhibition, is also responsible for its organization. «The exhibition began to be prepared at the end of April. We had many conferences through Zoom to talk and prepare everything».

The assembly, in the rooms of the mansion that serves as the headquarters of Associação 289, with the walls corroded by humidity and saltpeter, began on June 11th. «From this group that is here, everyone stopped their lives to come here to do the editing, for three days. This comes out of our hair…», said Tiago Batista.

Associação 289 is a contemporary art collective, created three years ago in Faro. The economic support of the project is guaranteed by the income that some artists pay for the use of the studios, located on the upper floor of the mansion at Pontes de Marchil. For the exhibitions, they have also had the support of the City Council of Faro and with some private, “residual” sponsorships.

Fernando Amaro, another of the 289 directors, also an artist, explains that he has been the support of the Chamber of Faro which has made it possible to bring “projects from outside the region” to the capital of the Algarve. This support was also reflected in the edition of the catalog of the grand opening exhibition and should be repeated now with this «Back to the Future».

«Faro, if you want to apply for the European Capital of Culture in 2027 – which is in a little while – you will have to promote everything that is cultural action. This is the only contemporary art center in the region. We both bring here renowned artists from abroad, as we designate a room, the Project Room, for young artists, students of Visual Arts at the University of Algarve, to present their work here, often for the first time. This is very important for them to start building a curriculum», added Fernando Amaro.

This Saturday, the 13th, the manor house of Pontes de Marchil will be open for six hours, between 14:00 and 20:00, «with a series of guidelines for visitors to the exhibition, also appealing to the civic sense of the community. Thus, the use of mask and hand hygiene will be mandatory, with hand sanitizing gel at the entrance of the space».

But the space will be restricted, so that, at a time, there can only be 10 people inside and 20 outside. Therefore, your presence at the inauguration must be confirmed by email, to the address [email protected] with the desired time of your presence. The 289 will respond to this message with "a confirmation or suggestion for another time, as the limit of people permanence cannot exceed 30".

After this inauguration, when, as usual, there will be more people, the exhibition can be visited without booking (but wearing a mask) until the 26th of July, from Friday to Sunday, from 15 pm to 00 pm.

Present Artists:

A. Pedro Correia

Ana André

Ana Rostron

Andre Sancho

Andrea Rafael

angelo gonçalves

BASAP

Bertilio Martins

Black Mendes

Bruno Cricket

Christine Henry