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26 NOV 2021
Press Releases
Prata Riverside Village receives "Brilha Rio", an exhibition of the graphic memory of the city of Lisbon
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20th century commercial signs Exhibition, promoted by the Letreiro Galeria Project, opens on December 4th. Prata Riverside Village is the patron of this journey through time, to a city that has been disappearing, which has the partnership of Plataforma P’LA ARTE.

Starting on December 4th, Prata Riverside Village parking lot, in Marvila, a space adjacent to the P’LA ARTE Market, will be illuminated by 20th century commercial signs, with the exhibition “Brilha Rio”, composed of about 70 pieces from the collection of the Letreiro Galeria Project.

Inspired by the name of one of the signs in this project, the “Brilha Rio” exhibition is a part of the city’s history, told through commercial names that, for decades, decorated urban facades and accompanied the lives of many passers-by. Glass or plastic signs, neons, wind doors, light boxes and metal letters, which were removed from the facades after the closure of the establishment or when they made the decision to replace the old sign with prints, or letters with LED system. Most of these objects would have been destroyed if they had not been rescued by this project.

The route of the “Brilha Rio” exhibition was organised by commercial areas: hairdressers, shoe shops, clothing, restaurants, cars, opticians, and hotels, in the areas of Lisbon, Porto, Almada, Carcavelos, Moscavide, Silves and Vila Franca de Xira.

Names or surnames are on display, such as Eleonora, Joaquim, Telma, Nogueira, Costa, Pereira, Sequeira, or a combination of names like Vamar or Jelu. Together in the same space are iconic signs such as the “Casa Frazão” on Rua Augusta, the shoe store “Cerimónia” on Rua Alexandre Herculano, the “Pastelaria Suíça” in Praça do Rossio, traces of the Pereira house on Rua Garrett, the “Ritz” Hotel on Rua Rodrigo da Fonseca, the “Alfaiate Joaquim Barbosa” on Av. Infante Santo, among many other signs, which are part of a collective memory – both visual and emotional.

Recently, safeguarded and preserved in the collection, the Letreiro Galeria found one of Lisbon’s “pearls”, by Fernando Bento, illustrator and cartoonist, the panel of drawings advertising BP fuel which, for 60 years, was in a garage in Rodrigues Sampaio Street.

According to Rita Múrias and Paulo Barata, founders of the Letreiro Galeria Project,

“’Brilha Rio’ is the result of a proposal made by the partnership between P’la Arte Platform and Prata Riverside Village, which will provide us with another opportunity to share the collection of signs that we have been safeguarding since 2014.”

“Since the beginning of the project, we have been fighting for the preservation of this heritage and to find a permanent space to make a museum or exhibition warehouse. We hope that this exhibition can once again convey the importance that this project has for the city of Lisbon”.

“We are very pleased to once again cede the premises of Prata Riverside Village to provide the stage for important projects of artistic expression, such as the ‘Brilha Rio’ exhibition, which allows all to visit a journey through space and time in the history and urban planning of the city of Lisbon”, says Luís Gamboa, COO of VIC Properties, the promoter responsible for Prata Riverside Village, the patron of this exhibition. “After the protocol signed last year with P’la Arte Platform, with the creation of the P’la Arte Market in May 2021 and the holding in October of the Iminente Festival on the grounds of Matinha, this partnership further reinforces the commitment of VIC Properties and Prata Riverside Village to support and promote the different expressions of art and culture”.

Open until March 5th 2022 and with free admission, the “Brilha Rio” exhibition can be visited from Friday to Sunday, between 3pm and 8pm.

This partnership reinforces the commitment of VIC Properties in supporting and promoting art and culture, and of Prata Riverside Village which, among other cultural projects, hosts the P’la Arte Market on the first Saturday of each month, between 11am and 7pm. The next edition of this innovative experience, which allows more than thirty artists to present and sell their work in a creative and attractive way in the parking lot of this development, takes place on December 4th. Exceptionally, on this day, which coincides with the opening of the “Brilha Rio” exhibition, the hours for visiting both events will be from 11am to 8pm.