Flemish Art Exhibit - Reopening
The permanent exhibition dedicated to Flemish art, at MASF, reopens to the public on October 1st with a new configuration, after being closed for around a month.
The intervention took place within the scope of the Project MASF: The Flemish Painting Exhibition, financed by the museum support program of the Portuguese Museum Network (Rede Portuguesa de Museus) “Pro-Museus 2023” and included a review and update of the museum's flemish painting exhibit. Along with the Flemish sculpture, this set is displayed on the second floor of the museum. The last museographic review of this exhibition area dates back to the mid-1990s. The museographic reformulation proposal covered several areas of intervention and aimed at improvements, both in terms of preservation of the collection and in terms of the experience of the public who visit it.
What's new?
+ Accessibility + Information + Preservation
As the Flemish painting collection is one of the main ex-libris of this museum, it was extremely important to rethink and readjust the ways in which visitors come into contact with it, improving its exhibition conditions in conservative terms.
Thus, there were three main axes of intervention for the reformulation of the exhibition, which were, in a way, interdependent:
- Mediation and communication – introduction of core (wall) texts; review of the layout and subtitle supports; addition of developed subtitles, contextual information and other curiosities distributed at different reading levels;
- Preservation and accessibility - replacement of exhibition supports for triptych paintings and dismembered painting side panels, improving the quality of the materials used in the supports and allowing visitors to fully contemplate the panels and triptychs with paintings on two sides;
- Ambience and harmonization of the space – The distribution criteria for the works in the Flemish painting collection (dating, artistic expression and authorial attribution of the pieces) were generally maintained, reinforcing the sections with wall texts. However, changing the supports and placing captions and texts led, in some cases, to adjustments in the distribution of volumes and rest areas.
In terms of environment, there are some new features in terms of colors, given the atmosphere that was intended to be created, in alignment with MASF's image and visual identity.
The Future
A museum is a living and dynamic space, which is open to everyone, so the future opens up with challenges, especially in terms of preventive conservation, with regard to environmental control and, very particularly, accessibility and inclusion.
A museum is a place of study, preservation, enjoyment, learning, reflection and dialogue, a place that belongs to us. To everyone.
MASF wants to increasingly assume itself as a reference museum space in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, a place where culture meets science and faith.
Promuseums
In the 2023 edition of the Support Program for Museums of the Portuguese Museum Network – ProMuseus 2023, 40 projects from 40 museums across the country were approved for financing, with a total value of 1,684,031.33 euros, for which the DGPC's contribution is 997,854 .31 euros, to be allocated in a divided manner in 2023 and 2024.
The Funchal Sacred Art Museum was one of two Madeiran museums distinguished in the application process, being supported with a total of €29,783.52, corresponding to 60% of the total cost of the project.
MASF had already been sponsored in other editions of this program: in 2019 with the project MASF mais acessível which aimed to review MASF's direction and location signage and the integration of ramps for physical accessibility on the floor 0; and in 2021 with the project MASF.pt which aimed to create a new online website for the Museum. It is worth noting that the latter also had the support of the Municipality of Funchal, through its program supporting activities of cultural interest.
The intervention took place within the scope of the Project MASF: The Flemish Painting Exhibition, financed by the museum support program of the Portuguese Museum Network (Rede Portuguesa de Museus) “Pro-Museus 2023” and included a review and update of the museum's flemish painting exhibit. Along with the Flemish sculpture, this set is displayed on the second floor of the museum. The last museographic review of this exhibition area dates back to the mid-1990s. The museographic reformulation proposal covered several areas of intervention and aimed at improvements, both in terms of preservation of the collection and in terms of the experience of the public who visit it.
What's new?
+ Accessibility + Information + Preservation
As the Flemish painting collection is one of the main ex-libris of this museum, it was extremely important to rethink and readjust the ways in which visitors come into contact with it, improving its exhibition conditions in conservative terms.
Thus, there were three main axes of intervention for the reformulation of the exhibition, which were, in a way, interdependent:
- Mediation and communication – introduction of core (wall) texts; review of the layout and subtitle supports; addition of developed subtitles, contextual information and other curiosities distributed at different reading levels;
- Preservation and accessibility - replacement of exhibition supports for triptych paintings and dismembered painting side panels, improving the quality of the materials used in the supports and allowing visitors to fully contemplate the panels and triptychs with paintings on two sides;
- Ambience and harmonization of the space – The distribution criteria for the works in the Flemish painting collection (dating, artistic expression and authorial attribution of the pieces) were generally maintained, reinforcing the sections with wall texts. However, changing the supports and placing captions and texts led, in some cases, to adjustments in the distribution of volumes and rest areas.
In terms of environment, there are some new features in terms of colors, given the atmosphere that was intended to be created, in alignment with MASF's image and visual identity.
The Future
A museum is a living and dynamic space, which is open to everyone, so the future opens up with challenges, especially in terms of preventive conservation, with regard to environmental control and, very particularly, accessibility and inclusion.
A museum is a place of study, preservation, enjoyment, learning, reflection and dialogue, a place that belongs to us. To everyone.
MASF wants to increasingly assume itself as a reference museum space in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, a place where culture meets science and faith.
Promuseums
In the 2023 edition of the Support Program for Museums of the Portuguese Museum Network – ProMuseus 2023, 40 projects from 40 museums across the country were approved for financing, with a total value of 1,684,031.33 euros, for which the DGPC's contribution is 997,854 .31 euros, to be allocated in a divided manner in 2023 and 2024.
The Funchal Sacred Art Museum was one of two Madeiran museums distinguished in the application process, being supported with a total of €29,783.52, corresponding to 60% of the total cost of the project.
MASF had already been sponsored in other editions of this program: in 2019 with the project MASF mais acessível which aimed to review MASF's direction and location signage and the integration of ramps for physical accessibility on the floor 0; and in 2021 with the project MASF.pt which aimed to create a new online website for the Museum. It is worth noting that the latter also had the support of the Municipality of Funchal, through its program supporting activities of cultural interest.