On April 19th class 7E from Bragança, Portugal had the pleasure of listening to the Art teacher Manuel Trovisco, who talked to them about Colour, different types of colour, the meaning of colours and how it was used by some painters to express the world they lived in. The students from Madeira were with us for some time via Skype. We will be sharing with them the video we made and here are some photos and Trovisco's presentation. You can see it on SlideShare or download it to better understand the hyperlinks.

The importance of colour in the work of Graça Morais

Graça Morais is a contemporary Portuguese painter who was born in the region of Trás-os-Montes where Bragança is situated. Her work, although deeply rooted in the land, the women and the traditions from Trás-os-Montes, has been widely acclaimed and is now part of important national and international collections.

Centro de Arte Contemporânea Graça Morais, an award-winning architectural project designed by Eduardo Souto Moura, was inaugurated in 2008. The building usually houses an exhibition of Graça Morais's works and temporary exhibitions by other artists.

Today class 7A had the opportunity to visit this place and the pleasure to listen to the Centre's Director and curator who talked to us about the importance of colour in the work of Graça Morais. We hope to be able to post more photos and videos from this visit. We learned a lot and had a great time, so we want to share it with you.

The Arte Sacra Museum

On the 27th of May, Madeiran students had the opportunity to find out more about the use and symbology of colour in art by visiting the Arte Sacra Museum. None of them had ever visited the museum so it was both an adventure that led us across town, and also a great learning opportunity.

We explored the museum led by our guide, Martinho, who helped us understand how colour can be used by artists to convey feelings, emotions, different meanings. He went into the processes used to create the different colours, how, throughout the ages, artists have honed in on these processes and have come to use both organic and artificial pigments to create colour. He also made possible for us to understand how the use of colour by an artist can and usually is related to his culture and the meaning that culture assigns to a particular colour.