The programme for the reopening includes a "Pala Concert" with Milhanas and the exhibition "My matalote and friend Luís de Camões".
The reopening of the Pavilhão de Portugal to the public begins with the first of the "Pala Concerts", with a performance by the artist Milhanas, on 30 April at 21.00, which marks the beginning of a regular programme of free concerts supporting and giving visibility to new talents in Portuguese music, and which will be given under the emblematic concrete covering (the 'Pala') of the building's Ceremonial Square.
The following day, 1 May, the doors of the new Pavilhão de Portugal Exhibition Centre opens to the public with the exhibition "My matalote and friend Luís de Camões", from 10.00 to 18.00, in a contemporary evocation of the poet Luís de Camões, through a visual and literary journey that combines art, literature and heritage. The exhibition follows the major narrative axes of Os Lusíadas, crossing them with Camões' lyric, and includes an innovative dialogue between the poet's texts and the visual arts.
The exhibition includes sculptures by Simões de Almeida and Canto da Maya, paintings by José Malhoa, Columbano, Veloso Salgado, Cristóvão de Morais, Lourdes Castro, Géricault and James Ward based on Titian, and works by artists such as Domingos António de Sequeira, Luca Cambiaso and Abraham Bloemaert. Contemporary photography is represented by names such as Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff, Jorge Molder, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Luís Pavão.
The works were donated by prestigious institutions such as the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia, the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, the Palácio Nacional da Ajuda, the Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis, the Museu Nacional Grão Vasco, the Centro de Arte Moderna da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, the Novobanco Photography Collection and some private collectors.
Designed by Álvaro Siza Vieira, Pritzker Architecture Prize and Honoris Causa by ULisboa, the Pavilhão de Portugal was originally designed for Expo'98 and is today a symbol of Portuguese modernism. The refurbishment now completed was carefully monitored by the architect's studio, fully respecting the vision and integrity of the original project. From now on this will be a new multidisciplinary space with an Exhibition Centre and a Congress Centre, which will be able to host a wide variety of cultural, scientific and corporate events, among others, taking advantage of its unique characteristics, its privileged location in the city and its close connection to the Universidade de Lisboa.
Also during the month of May, the Pavilhão de Portugal's programme will include two other significant events: its integration in the next edition of the Open House Lisbonprogramme, the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, taking place on 10 and 11 May, will give the opportunity for the public to visit the interior of the Pavilhão de Portugal free of charge. On the same day as the anniversary of the opening of Expo'98, Wednesday, 22 May, there will be the New study room inauguration, a space open 24 hours a day to all students in the city, the Mega Ferreira Library, as well as the Parque das Nações Interpretive Centre. This is a partnership between the Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon City Council and the Parque das Nações Parish Council.
