Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

My first words are to congratulate the prize winning artists and all those who saw their works selected for the 16th edition of the Cerveira Biennial.

I congratulate them for this proof of recognition of their talent. And, above all else, I congratulate them for participating in this event, which gave Vila Nova de Cerveira the deserved title of Village of the Arts, at the same time as it was designed as an emblematic location on the route of contemporary art.

It is not the first time that I have attended the inaugural act of a Cerveira Biennial. In July 1996, as Prime Minister, I visited the 5th Biennial, together with its then Directors, Jaime Isidoro and José Rodrigues, two of the most significant names in the cultural field of the North of Portugal. I recall, from that visit, the tribute paid to Santa-Rita Pintor and the area dedicated to the first Portuguese abstract artists, Arlindo Rocha and Fernando Lanhas. But I equally recall the presence of contemporary artists, such as José Pedro Croft, Jorge Molder, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Pedro Calapez or Fernanda Fragateiro.

And, after all these years have passed from the first edition of the Cerveira Biennial, I am pleased to ascertain that some of the works of art that I have at home are from artists who were intimately connected with the Cerveira Biennial, as is the case with Jaime Isidoro and José Rodrigues, but also Augusto Canedo, nowadays the Biennial Arts Director.

Coming here again, to the Biennial, I must evoke, with great nostalgia and admiration, the name of Jaime Isidoro, who unfortunately left us in January 2009. Through the course of his life, as painter and exhibitor, and through the project he developed on behalf of culture, especially his contribution towards the creation and the development of the International Art Encounters, in the first place and, secondly to the Cerveira International Arts Biennial, Jaime Isidoro is deserving of our deepest esteem and regard. He was the first Arts Director of the Cerveira Biennial and one of the foremost persons responsible for this town to have become, 30 years later, also known as the Village of the Arts.

I would also appreciate associating myself to the tribute that this edition of the Biennial has decided to pay to Master José Rodrigues, another of its first and most enthusiastic promoters.

In effect, José Rodrigues is not just the designer, the ceramist, the sculptor that we all know and whose works we can admire in worldwide locations. He is also a citizen with drive, who assumed a proactive role in the launching of many projects of cultural associativism, some of which have lasted until today. For this reason, to pay a tribute to José Rodrigues is a justified option, especially here, in the Cerveira Biennial that, in addition to having his name amongst its founders, has complied with the objective of promoting culture and the arts with the people.

The Cerveira Biennial is, doubtlessly, an exemplary case, not just in respect of culture, but also in respect of territorial planning and even towards the international projection of the Country.

In 1978, the year in which this event took place for the first time, anyone who was aware of the Portuguese reality, especially that of the interior, would scarcely believe, or even imagine, that three decades later we would be here, witnessing the inaugural act of a cultural happening with this dimension and its notability.

In those days, equipment and facilities were rarely obtainable, especially outside the larger population centres. Artistic education was rudimentary. The art market was confined to a very small elite. If this were joined together with the grievous economic issues that could then already be felt, it is not difficult to imagine how misplaced the idea would seem in many people’s eyes.

How can thus be explained the launching, then, and the later consolidation, of an initiative such as the Biennial, in a town in the High Minho? I believe the secret of this case of success, rare in any part of the World, could be summarized in two words: imagination and perseverance.

Imagination of the artists, without any doubt, but imagination equally, of the local authorities who challenged them and knew how to wait for the harvesting, in the long term, of the now obvious results.

Perseverance of painters, sculptors and exhibitors, who grasped the opportunity and did not give up when facing the first criticisms; but perseverance as well, from the Cerveira Municipality, who demonstrated sufficient tenacity to create a routine with the Biennial, proudly assuming itself as an artistic and cultural nucleus.

There were very good reasons, even before the Biennial, to visit Vila Nova de Cerveira, from the castle to the landscape, the churches and the palatial mansions.

The natural and historical heritage, somewhat as in other locations in our Country, is of an exuberance and wealth that impresses the visitor.

It is not enough, however, to have been blessed with a heritage of which we can legitimately be proud. It is also necessary to know how to manage it, boost it, in order that it can be enjoyed by the people, either culturally and aesthetically, or in terms of development and quality of living. And, from this point of view, the Biennial has added a completely new dimension to the already existing potential of Vila Nova de Cerveira.

In the beginning it was just an ephemeral event, apparently uncommon, that appeared only from time to time. As time went by, however, music and other arts became associated with painting, the number of artists and visitors commenced increasing, galleries appeared and, very shortly, a museum would be opened with works shown at the Biennial. We thus become aware that Vila Nova de Cerveira, apart from the agreeable location it has always been, is also an international nucleus of contemporary art and a tourist destination for whoever wishes to find out the movements and trends of the arts in the last three decades.

The relevance reached by the Biennial can easily be ascertained due to the fact that it was developed this year simultaneously in Porto and in Vigo. But its reach goes far beyond that of local and regional dimension. When projecting itself as a borderless initiative, where artists concur from the whole World, it is also Portugal’s image that is projected by Cerveira, the image of a Country with deep historical roots and a strong identity, but equally a Country where contemporariness has a reserved seat.

In 1978, the first Biennial celebrated the act of creating in freedom. In 2011, visiting Cerveira is also visiting a stage of free creativity, a location of artistic expressions that allows us an intense trip to the interior worlds of all those who exercise their freedom in a creative act.

I want, for this reason, to express my great pleasure with the 16th edition of the Cerveira Biennial, to congratulate the local authorities and remaining responsible personages for its being carried out and pay tribute to those who, 33 years ago, seeded the ground and to whom is owed, in the last instance, what the Biennial is today.

To you all, my most sincere congratulations.