The Caldas da Rainha Creative City Project had other designations until the attribution of the title of Creative City, by UNESCO.
Initially called the Ceramic Festival, which later became MOLDA, the project and initial program of the event had its public presentation on 14 March 2016, in the building of the City Hall of Caldas da Rainha.
“AFFIRM THE UNIQUENESS OF CALDAS DA RAINHA AS ONE OF THE OLDEST CERAMIC PRODUCTION CENTERS”
More than 30 initiatives were part of the project that took place over 2016 and following years, involving several partners and, according to the event’s commissioner, João Bonifácio Serra, aimed to “affirm the uniqueness of Caldas da Rainha as one of the oldest ceramic production centers”.
To the ceramic production were joined – over time – other elements such as the artistic component, professional training with connection to the industrial world, academic training, museology, and relevant public and private collections, among others.
“Everything is combined”, continued João Bonifácio Serra, “there are few cities that have such a cohesive set and that make so much sense of activities around ceramics,” he said.
Caldas da Rainha has the perfect context to promote a project that will involve all types and dimensions of ceramic production, industrial and artisanal, utilitarian, decorative and artistic. And it will pay special attention to the various modalities of the presence of ceramics in the public space, also promoting studies that deepen the different aspects of production and the actions that may result in an appreciation of ceramic products.
The first initiatives took place between May and the end of the year, involving the municipality, schools, museums and private collectors.
It was thought that the party would be held annually, but with different schedules in odd years and even years.
In the latter case, more visible initiatives were planned for the public, such as international exhibitions, conferences, ‘workshops’ and publishing of publications (such as books, magazines or chronologies) related to ceramics.
The Arts and Design School, which celebrated 25 years of activity in 2016, was the invited school, being responsible for two of the exhibitions (one of works of former students and another of pedagogical practices).
The ceramic collection acquired by the municipality from the Molde factory, a private collection by João Maria Ferreira and contemporary ceramic design projects completed the programme in terms of major exhibitions taking place between July and September.
It was also thought of the opening of an “open call” – an initiative in which ceramic artists from all over the country could apply for projects to be carried out (in odd years) -, the opening of a ceramist’s shop, residences for ceramists and the launch of the first edition of the Ceramic Olympics, open to schools across the country.
Rafael Salinas Calado, specialist in the history of ceramics, and Ferreira da Silva, a ceramist who died at the beginning of the month and who left a vast work linked to the city, would be two of the names evoked in the first edition of the event.
The mayor, Fernando Tinta Ferreira, said that, along with the possibility of some initiatives generating revenue, the municipality wanted to apply for Community funds to reimburse the investment, namely “through the use of the Strategic Urban Development Plan (PEDU), which provides for the acquisition of buildings to host artists and live production,” he concluded. By 2020, the municipality planned to invest approximately EUR 1 million in all the initiatives that integrated this project, whose experiences and accumulated achievements should lead to the presentation, in 2020, from an application of Caldas da Rainha to the title of creative city recognized by Unesco.
