The restoration of Almada’s murals in Lisbon’s maritime stations was one of the selected projects from the program Watch of WMF, in 2022, triggering from then on a process of raising financing “for the safeguarding and international projection of the most relevant set of 20th century mural paintings in Portugal”.
In a first phase, completed last year, the six murals by Almada Negreiros were restored at Gare da Rocha do Conde d’Óbidosin a project worth 410 thousand euros. “A highly demanding interdisciplinary work”, which involved “165 m² of restored mural painting and preserved stone surfaces, according to international standards, in a process that brought together academic research, specialized laboratories and highly qualified conservation and restoration teams, in close coordination with public and private partners”, according to the entities’ statement.
A process that is described in the new edition of Cadernos do Porto de Lisboa, which documents the scientific and technical work carried out.
WMF Portugal has also been active in promoting this heritage, having produced content for the Google Arts & Culture platform, “making murals accessible to a global audience and reinforcing the project’s international projection”.
Miguel Horta e Costa, president of WMF Portugal, highlighted the “virtuous model of convergence between public effort and investment by civil society”. Vítor Caldeirinha, leader of the Port of Lisbon Administration, said that “a modern port does not exist in isolation, it lives in symbiosis with the city, dialogues with its heritage and contributes to the social and cultural cohesion of the communities that surround it. It is this sense of shared responsibility that guides us: returning value”.
This year, the Interpretive Center dedicated to the mural work by Almada Negreiros opened to the public at Gare Marítima de Alcântarain an initiative by Lisbon City Council, Turismo de Liboa and APL.