Centennial of Cargoler celebrated with exhibitions and new museological pole

“ O Centennial is, above all, a commitment to the legacy of Manuel Cargoleiro and Castelo Branco is the axis from which the master's work reaches the rest of the country and the foreigner ", explained to the agency Lusa the director of the Manuel Cargoleiro Foundation, Gonçalo Garcia Magano.

The opening of an exhibition dedicated to Ceramista Manuel Cargoleiro, at the Centro de Interpretação de Arte Rupestre do Vale do Tejo, in Vila Velha de Ródão (CIART), marks the beginning, today, of the celebrations of the centenary of the artist's birth.

Structured in two axes (support for creation and young artists, and expository programming and internationalization), the programme brings together exhibitions, awards for young artists, original artistic creation and research and conservation projects, developed in partnership with national and international institutions.

The Commemorations of the Centennial of Manuel Cargoleiro (1927–2027), mark the birth of one of the most influential Portuguese artists of the 20th century, being Castelo Branco, the city that houses the headquarters of the Foundation and the Cargoal Museum, the main partner and reference point of the entire commemorative cycle, between 2026 and 2028.

With regard to support for creation and young artists, the Manuel Cargoleiro Awards are the most visible face, with the first edition carried out by the Foundation and with the support of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon and the Municipality of Castelo Branco.

In the expository program, “Nine decades, a legacy: between memory and creation, building the future”, a project that is born to draw one of the greatest exhibitions ever dedicated to Manuel Cargoleiro.

Designed to be presented at the Exhibition Center of the Pavilion of Portugal on 16 March 2027, in a partnership with the University of Lisbon, the exhibition will cover, decade by decade, the artist's work and crosses, in a single route, the visual work and contemporary musical creation.

The program includes four original musical works, commissioned by Fundação Manuel Cargoleiro, inspired by the master's artistic and biographical path.

The works, signed by composers Pedro Lima, Dimitris Andrikopoulos, Sofia Sousa Rocha and Solange Azevedo, are autonomous, but will allow, as a whole, a unitary reading with nine movements, corresponding to the nine decades explained in the exhibition.

The artistic direction and interpretation are in charge of the Lontano Trio, with Clara de Sousa Gonçalves, Francisco Martins and Pedro Vasco.

According to the director of Fundão, more than a show in the capital, “Nine decades, a legacy: between memory and creation, building the future” seeks to design the name of Castelo Branco with new audiences, inviting those who discover the work in Lisbon to know it at its origin.

“ This is also why the initiative, although presented in Lisbon, prolongs the work developed from Castelo Branco and then returns to the city: its narrative and the sound mediation component will be integrated in the requalification of the permanent exhibition of the Cargolier Museum, planned for 2028”.

In September 2027, Castelo Branco is once again the protagonist of the celebrations, with the inauguration of the Ceramic Pole of the Cargolier Museum, installed in a requalified building on Rua Vaz Preto, in the former GNR Headquarters.

“ This third pole of the Museum welcomes a long-term exhibition dedicated to the ceramic work of Mestre and consolidates the presence of the collection and the Foundation in the territory”.

The international cycle also includes the inauguration of the Museo Diffuso Manuel Cargoleiro, in Ravello, Italy, on an announcement date.

The Manuel Cargolier Foundation also launched a page dedicated to the Centenary on its official website: www.centenario.fundacaomanuelcargaleiro.pt