Donations made to the Carlos Machado Museum over the last 10 years were the motto for the theme of this exhibition, which also aims to honor donors, praising the act of giving in a society based on commercial exchange, profit and consumption.
"The objects donated to the museum in the last 10 years gravitate around the home. They are, for the most part, not extraordinary objects, but everyday objects that are open to multiple readings. On the one hand, they tell a story of private life; on the other hand, they contain more or less revealed memories and affective charges. It is from these two dimensions that their value derives and they are the ones that incite the gesture of donation, in order to rescue these objects from loss and oblivion”.
_ Luísa Cardoso | Curator
The Sacred Art circuit focuses on the old College Church, where the lush façade, the resplendence of the altarpiece of the main altar, as well as the collection of 17th century tiles are assumed as a whole, in a unique monument of Baroque style. To this is added a gallery with a diversified collection where pieces from the 16th century stand out, as well as a valuable collection of works with a religious theme.
This tour presents the architectural characteristics of past convent buildings, but also the diversity of spaces, their dynamics and purposes, as well as exploring the way of life of the Poor Clares belonging to the female branch of the Order of Friars Minor, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi.
The Natural History Circuit presents a naturalist collection that was the basis for the Museum. It is distributed over 8 rooms where diversity, knowledge and the exotic, along with different fields of scientific knowledge, are exhibited, with special importance to zoology, geology, mineralogy and botany.
The partnership between the Carlos Machado Museum and the Azores Geopark reinforces the strong bond with the local territory, which therefore contributes to its advertising, protection, enhancement, and sustainable development.
Due to the increase in tourism, the Museum has become an essential way to share knowledge, as a first contact of visitors with the Azores. In this sense, it aims to arise curiosity and promote responsible tourism activity, based on preservation and conservation of natural resources.
Visit this exhibition, entitled The Geopark in the Museum, at Santo André Center.