In the most depressed area of the city of Porto, Campanhã, two galleries were born that have photography as their main protagonist and occupy two of the eleven warehouses on Rua de Miraflor. The consultation of the archives locates its construction between 1908 and 1917 that served the commerce made through the station of Campanhã. The storage of wine, the manufacture of fishing nets, office supplies and others saw the decline caused by new routes and new means of transport. Most of the warehouses that had been abandoned for decades seemed doomed to collapse. It was its size (about 200 square meters), its height, the granite walls and the majestic doors that led photographers Manuela Matos Monteiro and João Lafuente to acquire two warehouses that are now two galleries: Espaço MIRA and MIRA FORUM . One of the concerns was to recover the two places respecting their design and original materials, which are now considered examples of a successful rehabilitation. The initiative of the two photographers contaminated other wills and, at the moment, the eleven warehouses are mostly occupied by people related to the arts.
Espaço MIRA
Espaço MIRA , located at number 159 on Rua de Miraflor, is a gallery fundamentally linked to photography and its relationship with other arts and knowledge. It is with the artistic direction of José Maia that an exhibition program is being developed in which an «thinking the expanded field of photography», that is, to reflect photography in its multiple aspects. Conferences, film and performance cycles and exhibitions of artists’ books help to create a critical reflection on the place and role of photography inscribed in the city and in today’s world. Artist residencies are also an important component of MIRA’s intervention.
The gallery searches to always establish close relationships with the community and its institutions. The diversity of proposals and artistic expressions, the presence of works by artists from different generations has been one of the characteristics of Espaço MIRA’s intervention.
Rua Miraflor, nº 159, 4300 – 334, Porto – Portugal
(+351) 929 145 191 / (+351) 929 113 431
espacomira@miragalerias.net
Wednesday – Saturday
15:00 – 19:00
MIRA FORUM
MIRA FORUM it is the second warehouse on Rua de Miraflor, number 155. It is an interdisciplinary place that, due to the great diversity on offer, has been assuming the body of a cultural center in Campanhã. Exhibitions, presentations and book launches, conferences, debates and gatherings, photographic tours and evenings, concerts, theater plays or dance shows are some of the activities that highlight the gallery.
Rua Miraflor, nº 155, 4300 – 334, Porto – Portugal
(+351) 929 145 191 / (+351) 929 113 431
miraforum@miragalerias.net
Wednesday – Saturday
15:00 – 19:00
MIRA | performing arts
MIRA | performing arts, joins Espaço MIRA and MIRA FORUM. It opened on the 24th of April and is located at 68 Rua Padre António Vieira, in Campanhã. It is a space designed for the performing arts, a box lined with honey-colored cork. The programming is in charge of Hugo Cruz, responsible for Quintas Nómadas that have been held at MIRA since September 2016. presentations. Gatherings, conversations, workshops, cinema, concerts and exhibitions are part of the project for this new place. A monthly poetry session has already been scheduled to take place on the third Wednesday of each month, and a session dedicated to women on the fourth Wednesday of each month.
facebook/miraartesperformativas
instagram/mira_artes_performativas
Padre António Vieira, nº 68, 4300 – 030, Porto – Portugal
(+351) 929 145 191 / (+351) 929 113 431
miraperformativas@gmail.com