Visit to Art Galleries #Madiera #Funchal

When we visit a new town we like to explore the local art scene and if possible visit the main gallery. We read in the guide book that the old fort housed a collection of modern art and set off to visit the exhibition. 


The fort was at the far end of town on a headland and was an impressive building. On entering the building we had a look around and then asked the staff where the exhibition was. This was met with blank expressions. Eventually we found someone who understood and they explained it had been moved up the coast to another town. Unfortunately nobody seems to have publicized this and people were still coming to the fort. 

At least we had the old town to explore. At the meeting in the hotel the rep had mentioned that the old town had been getting run down and people had not been going there. A group of artists had come together and decided to paint all the doors; this had happened and now the streets were alive again filled with cafes, restaurants and a variety of shops.

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We had wandered around a different  times during our two weeks and there was always a superb atmosphere and at every turn there was something new to see. 

When we go on holiday we always try to bring back a piece of original art from the area. In this case we found a small shop run by artists that offered a range of classes and also had their artwork for sale. We purchased a wooded wall hanging made from found pieces that were made into a village scene. 

On exploring further we found several small galleries and enjoyed seeing the range of work on show. 

We loved the quote on the inside of the brightly covered door and on entering enjoyed a chat with a couple of the local artists who had studios there. They have an open competition and invited me to enter. A nice idea but costs would be a little prohibitive.

We also met another artist, Ricardo Jorge, working in his own gallery who went to college near Norwich in England. We particularly liked some of his landscape paintings and had an interesting talk with him about his time in England and his inspiration.

An enjoyable time spent exploring the art scene and maybe if we ever return we will travel up the coast to find the modern art gallery. If they have not moved it again without telling anybody!