How art can make positive changes! A walking tour in district Sacavém led by excellent guide Kally lasted over 3 hours. We’ll have to go again to admire all the murals (around 120) 🙂 !
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & artists : Zag & Sia
Quinta do Mocho & former bad reputation
Sacavém (located in former Quinta do Mocho) once was known as a neighborhood with a bad reputation. Today we visit what has become popular as the “largest open-air urban art gallery in Europe”.
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & guide Kally. Artist: Abraham Osorio
2014: Street Art Festival with artists from all over the world
For a long time in Sacavém everything was abandoned. Taxis and buses no longer circulated in the area. To rehabilitate the neighborhood, the Câmara Municipal (town hall) organized a Street Art Festival in 2014. Since then, this Festival is organised almost every year.
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & artist MAYE
Quinta do Mocho & former Portuguese colonies
The Quinta do Mocho social housing project, consisting of four-story buildings, was built in the 1990s to house 3.000 people, mostly from former Portuguese colonies in Africa, Cape Verde, Guinea and Angola. Social exclusion, high unemployment and poor housing standards contributed to the area having high crime rates and various social problems.
Sacavém, September 13. Picture (with permission): Margriet de Vrieze
Turning point in 2014
The creation of the urban Art Festival was a turning point in the history of Quinta do Mocho. According to local officials, since the murals were painted, a bus line now serves the area, cultural events have multiplied, and the crime rate has fallen. All the buildings, owned by the local government, are rented out to low-income families . Source: WikiPedia
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & artists Coletivo Licuado
Nowadays around 120 murals are coloring the buildings, in a creative line-up that covers the work of national and international famous artists – such as Bordalo II, Vhils (both Portuguese) Odeith, Slap, Adrés or Pantónio.
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & artist ÔJE
This video gives a good impression of the neighborhood with all the monotonous buildings :
YouTube: Quinta do Mocho – Galeria de Arte Publica
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & artist MAYE
First guided tour was organised in 2015.
Nowadays, every week, groups of tourists come to admire the mural paintings based on various themes such as racial discrimination, children’s rights, or justice.
The neighbourhood felt quiet and peaceful when we walked around.
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery & portrait of Amilcar Cabral, by Portuguese artist Antonio Alves
The “40 years, 40 murals” initiative, aimed at marking the 40th anniversary of the 25th of April (freedom!) in Portugal. To remember the great African nationalist Amilcar Cabral, founder of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, murdered in 1973.
Sacavém & artist Bordalo II. Picture: Margriet de Vrieze
All artworks of Bordalo II are created with GARBAGE .
The excessive production and consumption of stuff, which results in the continuous production of “garbage” and consequently in the destruction of the Planet, are the central themes of his production.
Street art Utopia & collection of street art by Bordalo II
Sacavém: Europe’s largest open-air art gallery, guide Kally & artist Untay
Visit Sacavém & excellent tourist guide Kally
When you visit Lisbon and you like street art, take the time to visit Sacavém. It’s really amazing! We (members of NV Lissabon, Dutch Society), spent half a day there. Our guide Kally lives in the neighborhood and he knows a lot of stories about the murals and their creators.
Sacavém: guide Kally & members of NV Lissabon (Dutch Society)
The tour starts at the Casa da Cultura de Sacavém, where Kally briefly explains (in English) about the murals that can be seen here as maquettes.
YouTube: Casa de Cultura de Sacavém & maquettes of all murals
Casa da Cultura de Sacavém & Mexican artist Eva Bracamontes ( maquette)
How to book a guided tour via Guias do Mocho:
guiasdomocho@gmail.com
Whatsapp: +351 967815872
Or via a message on Facebook. Price: €10 per person. You can enjoy an African lunch (€15 pp) afterwards in a small restaurant.
How to get there? Quinta Do Mocho is located in Sacavém close to Lisbon’s airport. Bus 310 from Oriente is an option but taxis are quite cheap in Portugal.
Meeting point: Casa da Cultura de Sacavém, Urbanização dos Terraços da Ponte, 2685-155, Sacavém
Coffee break: Cafe ‘O Cantinho da Anita’, Sacavém & Dutch visitors NV Lissabon, September 13, 2023
Hi Julie!
Google sent me here. I clicked your website because I read Sacavém and no go zone.
That place is really not Sacavém. Perharps you could call it “Quinta do Mocho”.
Proper Sacavém is 1km or more away. Also Sacavém is within Loures and not Lisbon. Most of the Airport is also Loures (another municipality). Same as Cascais and Sintra are not Lisbon. Just close to it.
I would not visit that place without some precautions. Like not flashing a big camera and keeping my eyes really alert.
But yes that place was very dangerous 20 years ago.
The new buildings gave people a more respectable life and that lead to way less crime.
The government with programs to give money to those who don’t want to work much, curbed crime.
You took nice pictures. I only knew the Bob Marley facade.
Regards
Obrigada!