Mercearia De Arte Alves & Silvestre

About

Since its foundation, Coimbra has been a city of recognized cultural and artistic influence in the country and even beyond borders. Despite this fact, currently Coimbra suffers from the absence of a vibrant art market or an active infrastructure for the promotion and support of arts capable of properly serve its already sizable and academic population. The project Mercearia de Arte Alves & Silvestre pretends to transform the "status quo" of the local art market and to alter popular beliefs of lower and middle classes that art tends to be elitist, obscure and inaccessible. Thus, Mercearia de Arte Alves & Silvestre, in a free translation Alves and Silvestre art grocery store, wants to be a contemporary art gallery that demystifies wrong ideas and stereotypes by reaching a wider public and promoting a closer approach to customers. The crosstalk with academia will be stimulated and the interaction with to local art and tourism agents and local community are seen as key factors for the success of this project. A responsible civic action and fostering of local tourism and art will be constants goals, in order to promote artists and their craft not only regionally, but also nationally and internationally. The gallery's mission is to promote contemporary art and culture, based on the exposition of well-established artists with recognized notoriety and consensual value in the inner circle of criticism, but often distant or hardly recognized outside the two major metropolitan and cosmopolitan areas of the country, Lisbon and Oporto. Young artists still in training will also be a priority, facilitating their transition into the professional world. The gallery will present art in all formats, including the application of new technologies and media art, always focused on the internationalization of Portuguese artists, as well as the introduction of international artists to our market. In addition to works of art, the gallery will contain other products (merchandising and art books) related to the artistic and cultural world. Cultural events such as discussions, talks, presentations, workshops and guided tours will be supported in our space, aiming to engage local community in the art market through informed, dynamic, civic and enjoyable activities.