The official inauguration is scheduled for Friday at 6:30 PM, and on Saturday, the public opening day, there will be a special program offering free admission, featuring outdoor performances of Teatro Dom Roberto, workshops for families, and visits to the new exhibition, according to a statement from the Empresa de Gestão de Equipamentos e Animação Cultural (EGEAC – Lisboa Cultura).
The new exhibition circuit “which enhances the presence of puppetry in Portugal, includes new acquisitions, donations, and long-term loans,” adding that “among the novelties are the centenary Bonecos de Santo Aleixo and the Retábulo de Dom Quixote, which now form part of the exhibition.”
During the six months it was closed, “an intense conservation and restoration work was carried out on more than 150 pieces, as well as various interventions in the museum’s museography,” stated EGEAC – Lisboa Cultura about the museum located in the former Convento das Bernardas on Rua da Esperança.
Contacted by Lusa, EGEAC was asked for more details on the refurbishment, new circuit, acquisitions, and donations but deferred responses until after the inauguration.
According to the scheduling available on the museum’s website, on Saturday from 10:30 AM, puppet-making workshops inspired by the universe of traditional Portuguese theatre Dom Roberto will take place, along with guided tours by director Ana Paula Correia until 3:00 PM.
Theatre performances of Dom Roberto are also scheduled, between 11:30 AM and 4:00 PM, with two special sessions in the museum’s cloister by puppeteers Fernando Cunha and Nuno Pinto, marking the fourth anniversary of this art’s entry into the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In early December last year, the museum announced a two-month closure for refurbishment works that would include room restructuring, replacement of pieces, and improvements in museography, to renovate the space inaugurated in 2001 at the Convento das Bernardas, with a collection spanning from the late 19th century to the present.
Dedicated to the world of puppets and scenographic pieces used in theatrical performances, the Puppet Museum exhibits a long-term collection and organizes temporary exhibitions and performances that “highlight how puppets reflect communities’ relationship with the world.”
The Puppet Museum is housed in a building that has undergone various transformations since it was originally built in the 17th century as a cloistered monastery, known as the Convento das Bernardas.
Since its construction, it withstood the great earthquake of 1755, underwent reconstructions, and served various purposes, especially after the extinction of religious orders in 1834, housing a school, cinema, and workers’ housing.
