MINI GUIDE TO STREET ART IN FUNCHAL, MADEIRA

Did you know that there are 200 painted doors in Funchal? No, don’t worry, I took pictures of all 200 of them and you will definitely want to look at them! 🙂 Just a few to give you an idea of how beautiful it is.

These beautifully ornately painted doors are located in the Old Town of Funchal, on the historic cobblestone street Rua de Santa Maria. You will find a sea of colors here, from green, blue, purple to orange. Madeira has always been beautiful, but I think street art has given it that extra edge. , It is becoming an increasingly prevalent part of the history of the Portuguese island. Thanks to the prolific painters, graffiti artists, sketchers and dreamers who have ventured into the art and culture scene in Madeira, you will find amazing artistic creations here.

A BIT OF HISTORY

PAINTED DOORS PROJECT

But where did it all start? Street art is a relatively new phenomenon in Madeira. In fact, if you start looking up the history of street art in Madeira, you will find that very little has been written. The reason is that it is a recent history. If you look at the old town of Funchal, until 2010 it was a standard, yet still picturesque, cobbled street with old, dilapidated doors that gave the capital of Madeira its own unique charm. When famous photographer José Maria Zyberch started the “Painted Doors Project”, the street art scene in Madeira came to life. He opened the doors (literally) to other renowned artists, whether expats, tourists or locals, who made Madeira their sunny playground and transformed it into the artistic, cultural district we know and love today.

Great artists like Olga Drak, Fatima Spinola and Artur Bordalo have beautiful paintings in the capital of Madeira, some of which you may recognize even outside of Portugal. Take Cristiano Ronaldo, Madeira’s most famous living celebrity, for example. British artist Richard Wilson created a mural in tribute to footballer Cristiano Ronaldo that takes up two walls of the Santo António Civic Centre, located in the parish where the footballer lived. Another incredible artist, Artur Bordalo (a Portuguese unconventional street artist), has an amazing piece near the CR7 Pestana Hotel and another in Camara De Lobos. He uses “waste materials” to create urban murals and installations all over the world. His work has been seen in Lisbon, France, Switzerland and the USA.

ZONA VELHA

So where can you find incredible street art in Funchal, the capital of Madeira? Head to the backwaters of the Old Town (Zona Velha in Portuguese). In 2010, Zona Velha was home to abandoned buildings, where dust gathered on forgotten streets, many restaurants and bars had closed. All that remained were dilapidated fishermen’s houses without owners. But then one day everything changed. The ghost town was transformed into a colorful wonderland, where tourists once again flocked. Funchal’s Old Town became a permanent art gallery, not unlike Shoreditch and Brick Lane, featuring the Painted Doors project, which took visitors’ breath away. The previously abandoned area was designed to turn the center of Funchal into an attractive cultural hub. With over 100 artists involved in transforming old doors into magical works of art, Zona Velha was once again bustling with tourists.

PROJECT artE pORtas abErtas

A fantastic resource is Projecto artE pORtas abErtas, which will show you the name of the artist who painted each door where it is located, as well as the surrounding streets of Funchal’s old town and its art. The name translates to “Art of Open Doors” and the association has its own website – here.

More than 100 artists were given a simple task – to choose one door and create whatever they could think of on it. And so the doors in this section were transformed into original works of art.

STREET SANTA MARIA

(RUA DE SANTA MARIA)

One of the most beautiful streets in Funchal’s old town (and perhaps the most infamous) is Rua de Santa Maria, home to art galleries such as Art Center Caravel and MA Art Gallery. Here, creativity knows no bounds, from paintings to murals to graffiti, sculptures and unconventional art, you’ll find it all.

STREET TRAVESSA DO PIMENTA

Don’t forget to take a look at the other alleys from here, especially Travessa do Pimenta. Scenes and characters from The Little Prince are depicted here. It’s like walking through the pages of an illustrated book.

The Travessa do Pimenta alley will lure you to the Little Prince.

ART OF ARTUR BORDALO

FUNCHAL is not the only place where you can find street art. I believe that if you go to Madeira, you will go out of this beautiful city. In Câmara de Lobos you will also find an installation by the famous Portuguese artist Arturo Bordalo – Bordalo II. It is part of his famous collection of animals “The Big Trash Animals”. It represents a sea lion (Lobo Marinho) – the symbol of Câmara de Lobos, which gave this city its name.

When visiting the beach in Machico, it is worth taking a look at the streets of the Old Town, which are also covered with amazing murals:

I think it’s great that Madeira is finally being recognised not only for its incredible scenery but also for its art, which showcases fantastic Portuguese artists who deserve to shine. From street art painted on doors to animal art made from rubbish and murals in restaurants, bars and hotels.