Despite how amazing some of the world’s biggest and most visited art museums might be, sometimes all we need is to touch base with smaller independent art galleries in order to find the real essence behind art and its creative process. Luckily for visitors, Porto’s dynamic arts quarter is filled to the brim with brilliant personal projects, independent exhibitions and all sorts of crazy creative people. Come check it out!
HERE ARE 4 MAY EXHIBITIONS YOU’VE GOT TO CHECK OUT IN PORTO’S INDEPENDENT ART GALLERIES
THE CAVER SOLO SHOW at Circus Network
Photo courtesy of: Circus Network
After almost 2 months of rumours, it has finally been confirmed that the Lisbon street artist The Caver will be conducting a graffiti solo show in Porto! As an artist who works in a regular art gallery during the day but does some hardcore underground graffiti work at night, The Caver may well be on his way to becoming the freaking Clark Kent of art! This clash of styles is precisely the theme behind his exhibition, which has been appropriately called “Day & Night”, and will be up and running until the 11th of May. You can see it at the Circus Network premises and no ticket is needed!
MARIANA MALHÃO at Ó! Galeria
Photo by: Tiago Mulhmann
Branded as one of the most popular independent art galleries in the city, Ó! Galeria – conveniently located in the Miguel Bombarda Art District – is an arts shop that specializes in illustration and drawings. Month after month, they make sure to keep up with their mission of opening their doors to new up-and-coming artists, so that they get the chance to show off their personal works. And the young 24-year old Mariana Malhão is next on their list! This Coimbra native illustrator might be young, but has already been credited with several projects and exhibitions under her belt. Make sure to show up and see some of her illustrations and postcards from the 5th of May onwards. Ó! Galeria is open from Monday to Saturday between noon and 8pm.
PRISCILA FERNANDES at Galeria Fernando Santos
If you’d like to witness the work of a talented award-winning artist, then a stop at Galeria Fernando Santos is in order. From the 21st of April to the 2nd of June, this independent art gallery will be hosting an exhibition by Priscila Fernandes. Priscila is a Rotterdam-based Portuguese multidisciplinary artist who won the EDP Novos Artistas back in 2011, an award given to the best new-comer in the national art scene. In this particular exhibition, the artist will show off her skills with a series of paintings made with hot wax – an ancient technique called Encaustic painting. Galeria Fernando Santos is open from Monday to Saturday, between 10am to 12h30am, and then from 3pm to 7pm. Entrance is free!
Galeria Fernando Santos Facebook page
MUSICAÇÕES DE UM ANDARILHO at Ap’Arte Galeria
Photo courtesy of: Ap’Arte Galeria
Taking place in the Ap’Arte Galeria throughout the entire month of May and until the 2nd of June, this semi-biographical exhibition by Roberto Chichorro tells a deeply personal story about the artist’s life journey. Displaying over 60 pieces created in a time span of over 40 years, the exhibition takes us all the way back to the author’s childhood spent between the rich predominantly white portuguese colonies and the slums where locals lived in his native Mozambique, while also approaching his time spent studying and developing his art in both Portugal and Spain. It’s a biography written with a brush, a poem laid on a series of canvas and the intimate story of a man through the lenses of art. Ap’Arte Galeria is open from Monday to Friday between 10am and 6pm. No entrance fee applies.
Feeling hipster already? Which of these independent art galleries made you more intrigued? Let us know on the comments section!
