Portimão Museum's anniversary celebrated with a photo race and tribute to José Vila

The Portimão Museum is celebrating its 17th anniversary of serving local memory and identity with a series of activities throughout the month of May.

The recreation of “A Day in Prehistory” took place on May 3rd and marked the start of this celebration, which will continue between the 16th and 18th with the 25th Photographic Race , the launch of the reissue of the book “Flavors of Algarve Cuisine” and the inauguration of the exhibition “Colors of the Land and the Sea”, both by José Vila.

The celebration also includes other unique surprises, as well as the traditional “Happy Birthday Singing” and the cutting of the original birthday cake, alluding to the Portimão Museum.

In a special edition, the 25th Portimão Photographic Race will take place between 16 and 17 May and celebrates the spirit experienced during the debut of this event, in 2001.

This year's proposal involves the re-edition of two emblematic categories that marked the beginnings of this original photography competition.

Thus, in a nostalgic edition, participants can register for the “24-hour Modality”, starting at 8:00 pm on Friday, May 16, or, alternatively, participate in the “12-hour Modality”, which starts at 8:00 am on Saturday, May 17, ending both at 8:00 pm, on the same day, on the date of the Museum's anniversary.

Registration for the 25th Photographic Race is open until May 14th and interested parties can register, in one of the two competition categories, at the Museum reception or via the address , where the Regulations, prizes and participation rules can also be consulted.

One of the highlights of this programme will be the official launch of the re-edition of the book «Flavors of Algarve Cuisine», by José Vila, published by Clube do Autor SA, which will be presented in the auditorium of the Portimão Museum, on 17 May, at 4 pm.

The author thus continues to propose a journey through Algarve gastronomy, through the most diverse recipes presented in the publication.

What this book offers is, therefore, a symbiosis of the products of the land and the sea. José Manuel Silva, the author's nephew, will be present to talk about this publication.

An interesting fact is that the launch of its first edition, entitled “Coisas da Terra e do Mar”, took place on June 16, 2001, in precisely the same location, when this space was still the old canning factory. Only later would the property be transformed into the current Portimão Museum, still maintaining its strong links to the history of the canning industry.

This moment will be a reunion with José Vila from Portimão, who passed away in 2021, but is still recognized today as an essential figure in regional Algarve gastronomy, since the opening of his Adega Vila-Lisa, with José Lisa, in 1981, in Mexilhoeira Grande, he has always maintained the art of simplicity, freshness and diversity of aromas and flavors in his recipes.

If flavours were an important part of José Vila's life, painting was also one of his passions. It is no coincidence that on the same day, at 5pm, the exhibition 'Colours of the Land and the Sea' will be inaugurated, a show that presents a retrospective journey, in which his 64 years of activity as an artist are celebrated.

A facet that began when he painted his first painting at the age of 13, in 1957, and which continued throughout his life until his last works, dated 2021, at the age of 77.

José Duarte Martins da Silva (1944-2021), better known as José Vila, was born in Mexilhoeira Grande, in the municipality of Portimão, and attended the Painting and Drawing Courses at ARCO and Mosaic and History of Art at IADE.

His artistic creativity, present in this exhibition, curated by José Gameiro, was soon characterized by the freedom in the use and application of colors, but also by the diversity of the mixture of tones, textures and materials, characteristics that expressed his emotions and experiences through an “informalist” language, which broke with any figurative representation.

Free, vigorous and expressive brushstrokes restore your spontaneity, without rigid rules or concerns with traditional aesthetics, valuing above all the energy of the movement of your gestures in the creative process.

The colours of the canvases will, however, once again be replaced by the flavours of the gastronomic experiences of Adega Vila-Lisa at the end of the opening of this exhibition. This is because a tasting of delicacies will be prepared, which confer the authenticity and simplicity of the flavour of Algarve products, prepared by his friend José Lisa for all visitors.

In what is the most special moment of the Portimão Museum, its anniversary, the singing of “Happy Birthday to the Museum” will take place at 6 pm, sung by members of IsmaTuna, from the Instituto Superior Manuel Teixeira Gomes , followed by the cutting of the birthday cake, in addition to other surprises.

Opened in 2008, this cultural facility, once a reference in the canning industry in the region and the country, is a house where the most distant past and the most recent come together and converge.

This year, the Museum celebrates with literature, art and gastronomy another year of service in favor of local identity and its mission as a “place for everyone”, where what matters most are people and the community.

Every year, May 18th is set aside to mark International Museum Day, an initiative of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). This is a global event that highlights the dynamic role of these facilities in serving the cultural development of societies.

The central theme chosen for 2025 is “The Future of Museums in rapidly changing communities”, which, in turn, is divided into three other approaches with “Intangible Heritage”, “Youth” and “New Technologies”.

On this day, when all visitors are invited to enter the Museum for free, the importance of these cultural facilities is heightened, not only as preservation spaces, but also as agents, active participants and catalysts for change with regard to the formation of sustainable and inclusive communities.

Over the last 17 years, the Portimão Museum has fulfilled its main mission, by assuming itself as a permanent social observatory and laboratory of ideas and stories, a bridge between past and future, and a decisive meeting point for the discovery, knowledge and enjoyment of cultural and natural heritage.

«It is with this mission in mind that the entire population is invited to celebrate a special date for the Portimão facility and to join in a party, where more initiatives are planned that promise to surprise visitors», says Portimão City Council .