Lisbon - Gulbenkian Museum

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this individual grants are awarded and money is given to support cultural, social and scientific projects throughout the country. Thus Portugal is provided with a network of 230 libraries, of which 59 are set up as traveling libraries.

The fact that the Gulbenkian Foundation has almost a monopoly on Portugal's cultural sector has not been without its problems. However, the opportunities gained by the country through this financial support can hardly be overestimated. The building of the foundation occurred during the time of the Salazar dictatorship. The government's fear of criticism from the cultural sector, which led, particularly in the literary sphere, to censorship, persecution and suppression (the then director of the Lisbon branch of the Goethe Institute, Curt Meyer-Clason, wrote about this in his "Portuguese Diaries") meant that at first only a "safe" area, namely music, was promoted.

Thus a separate orchestra, choir and ballet corps developed during the 1960s. Since 1977 a concert featuring contemporary music has taken place each year, with another featuring old music since 1980. In the early 1970s a main focus of the foundation was on the production of Portuguese films with film retrospectives and festivals being mounted. The Museu Calouste Gulbenkian was opened in 1969 on the occasion of the Armenian's 100th anniversary.

This fulfilllled one of Gulbenkian's wishes, that all his approximately 6,000 exhibits from all over the world should be accommodated under one roof - until then they had only been exhibited in parts in the Pombal palace in Oeiras. Since 1984 the Center of Modern Art has belonged to the Gulbenkian Foundation.

Its collection of 20th C. Portuguese art is continually increased and adds to Gulbenkian's own collection, which goes up to Impressionism.

An educational museum was set up in the park belonging to the foundation for further exhibits. Many, often international, exchange exhibitions are brought each year to Portugal by the Gulbenkian Foundation.

The 25,000sq.m/89,700sq.ft complex housing the Gulbenkian Museum was built between 1964 and 1969 according to the plans of the architects Alberto Pessoa, Pedro Cid and Ruy Athouguia. In accordance with Gulbenkian's variety of art interests the collection exhibited encompasses an extraordinarily wide spectrum of artwork from every era.

Tapestries and embroideries of exceptional quality are to be found in the collection.