Marking the Place – Meetings at the Museum

“Marking the Place” is a cultural participation programme developed by Alzheimer Portugal in partnership with the Portimão Museum, the first museum in the Algarve to host the project. It is aimed at individuals living with mild to moderate dementia and their caregivers, promoting well-being, expression, sharing, and social inclusion through art and heritage.

In Portimão, it takes place over six weekly meetings on Mondays from 2:30pm to 4:30pm, between 19th October and 23rd November. Sessions occur at the Antiga Lota, the Museum, the Alvor Lifeguard Interpretive Centre, and the surrounding area of the Museum, treating the territory itself as part of the museum experience. Groups are small (10 to 12 participants), participation is free, and no prior art knowledge is required.

In each session, participants explore places, objects, images, and stories, engage in conversation, build meanings together, and create based on what they have seen and shared.

19th October - Conversation about Fado and visit to the Grocery Store. Antiga Lota of Portimão 26th October - Conversation by the Vai-Vem jetty and about fish unloading - Portimão Museum 2nd November - Conversation about community life, the Lifeguard, and the creation of the Interpretive Centre and respective testimonies. - Alvor Lifeguard Interpretive Centre 9th November - Conversation about music and reading - Portimão Museum 16th November - Conversation focused on the travels of Manuel Teixeira Gomes and the family’s dried fruit business. - Outside the Portimão Museum 23rd November - Conversation about fishing and the fishing activity of the municipality, Profession Games - Portimão Museum.

The programme was designed by MAAT, the Lisbon Museum, Alzheimer Portugal, Acesso Cultura, and the Institute of Medical Sciences of the Catholic University of Portugal, with a pilot phase in 2021 and 2022. Results showed positive effects on mood, well-being, and the quality of the experience, as well as on the relationship between the person with dementia and the caregiver, and in creating new relationships.

Source: https://vivaportimao.pt/a-nao-perder/evento?idEvento=3208