10 years of the Museum District
The Museum District celebrates its 10th anniversary with three days of music, art, and heritage in Cascaisโwith free admission. The event is organized by the D. Luรญs I Foundation and the Cascais City Council.
Museums, monuments, historic houses, and gardens become stages and routes, withmusic, visual arts, cinema, literature, workshops, an independent fair, and live radio, with free admission.
The Museum District Festival brings together more than 40 initiatives with free programming and extended hours, involving 12 heritage sites in music, visual arts, cinema, literature, an independent fair, and live radio.
Under the motto One District. 10 Years of Culture, the 1st edition of the festival marks the 10th anniversary of the Museum District in Cascais and highlights a cycle of jazz and poetry, with Miguel Martins, Ana Zanatti, and Carlos Barretto, at the Cascais Cultural Center, an exhibition of the contemporary art collection of the Cascais City Council, with pieces by Vhils, Ricardo Passaporte, and Bordalo II, among many others, and more than 20 concerts featuring a variety of contemporary sounds. A varied program, with extended opening hours at the museums until 9:00 p.m. and dozens of initiatives for all audiences.
Following the motto The whole neighborhood is a stage,ย the proposal is a circuit tailored to each visitor, which also passes through the green spaces of Cascais.
The main venues include the Cascais Cultural Center, the Condes de Castro Guimarรฃes Museum, the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum, the Casa de Santa Maria, and Marechal Carmona Park, with free admission and limited capacity, subject to space and registration, when applicable. The Museum District Festival is an initiative of the Cascais City Council and the D. Luรญs I Foundation, which has been promoting culture in Cascais for almost three decades.
Full program HERE
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Organization: Cascais City Council | Dom Luรญs I Foundation | Museum District
Programming by session
Paisajar
September 26 to 28 - 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. - Cascais Cultural Center
Continuous sessions curated by Joรฃo Ramos: films shot in Portugal, Brazil, and Japan that use images as a place of listening, connecting memory, place, and body, with works by Inรชs Lima, Tiago Moura, Pedro Marques Pereira, and Salomรฉ Lamas. Free admission.
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Jazz and Poetry Night
September 26 - 8:00 p.m. - Cascais Cultural Center
Two-part program. In the first part, three poets read in dialogue with three musicians; in the second part, the musicians perform a collaborative musical improvisation. Program by Miguel Martins, with poets Ana รgua, Bruno Bรฉu, and Antรณnio Poppe; music by Benoรฎt Crauste (saxophone), Ana Albino (guitar), and Mรกrio Rua (drums). Free admission.
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The poem begins with a lump in the throat
September 28 - 5:00 p.m. - Cascais Cultural Center
Recital based on a verse by Robert Frost, with texts by classic and contemporary authors (from Jorge de Sena to Ana Luรญsa Amaral). Readings by Ana Zanatti and Josรฉ Anjos; music by Carlos Barretto (double bass). Free admission.
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Staged Readings
September 28 - 2:00 p.m. - Casa Sommer
Directed by Ricardo Neves-Neves and dramaturgy by Teresa Coutinho, with actors Beatriz Ferreira, Bruna Gomes, Rafael Balรฃo, Tomรกs Andrade, and Vasco Maranha. Free admission.
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Friday, September 26
Venues:
Farol
9:00 p.m. | LIVE | Cachupa Psicadรฉlica Farol
10:00 p.m. | DJ SET | Mama Demba Farol
Saturday, September 27
Locations:
Marechal Carmona Park (PMC)
Fountain
Amphitheater
Condes de Castro Guimarรฃes Museum (MCCG)
Organ Room
Cloister
Farol
2:00 p.m. | DJ SET | Drublei Fountain, PMC
4:00 p.m. | LIVE | Calcutรก & Maria Amaro Organ Room, MCCG
4:45 p.m. | LIVE | Vasco Alves Cloister, MCCG
6:00 p.m. | LIVE | Joana de Sรก Fountain, PMC
7:00 p.m. | LIVE | Rita Silva Amphitheater, PMC
8:00 p.m. | LIVE | SAD Fonte, PMC
9:00 p.m. | LIVE | Haydn Douet Lukies & Afonso Simรตes FMSM
10:00 p.m. | DJ SET | Dub Prescriptions FMSM
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Sunday, September 28
Locations:
Marechal Carmona Park
Fountain
Amphitheater
Chapel
Cascais Cultural Center (CCC)
2:00 p.m. | DJ SET | Rita Maomenos Fountain, PMC
4:00 p.m. | LIVE | Violeta Azevedo + Ariyouok Amphitheater, PMC
5:00 p.m. | LIVE | Adriana Joรฃo Chapel, PMC
6:00 p.m. | LIVE | Alga Fountain, PMC
7:00 p.m. | LIVE | XEXA Amphitheater, PMC
8:00 p.m. | LIVE | FARWARMTH Fountain, PMC
9:00 p.m. | LIVE | Gabriel Ferrandini CCC
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See more HERE
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One of the main highlights of the 1st edition of the festival is the exhibition Traรงos Urbanos: Coleรงรฃo de Arte Contemporรขnea da Cรขmara Municipal de Cascais (CMC) (Urban Traces: Contemporary Art Collection of the Cascais City Council), in a space at the Cascais Marina, with the official opening at 7 pm on Friday. The exhibition, featuring internationally renowned names, bears witness to the aesthetic and conceptual diversity of the contemporary artistic universe: from the appropriation of urban objects and waste transformed into sculpture-installations (Bordalo II), to experimentation with advertising posters and wooden doors worked with incisions and cuts (Vhils), from mural and figurative painting (Pedro Matos, Ram) to graphic and political intervention (Shepard Fairey, ยฑMaisMenosยฑ), from the revisiting of traditional tiles in contemporary language (Add Fuel) to the visual geometries of AkaCorleone or the visual narratives of Mรกrio Belรฉm, as well as several other artists of recognized merit. This is one of the highlights of the festival, which extends and emphasizes the dialogue between urban art and public space, one of CMC's commitments since the creation of the Collection in 2017.
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The special program extends to Casa de Santa Maria, where the exhibition Spirit Shop โ Delusional REI-MAR, opening at 7 pm on Friday, brings works by contemporary artists into dialogue with the heritage space of the house-museum. The exhibition, curated by Pedro Barateiro, transforms the Casa into a laboratory where Ana Jotta, alongside Guilherme Figueiredo, Inรชs Brites, Maria Ventura, and Sreya, activate an iconoclastic and free gaze that traverses objects, texts, drawings, and distinct performative gestures. Inspired by the historic Lisbon bar Reimar,ย the exhibition project establishes a game between architecture, intimacy, and contemporaneity, proposing a common stage where the public participates in the construction of the exhibition itself.
As for the Cascais Cultural Center (CCC), one of the central hubs of the Museum District, there are several events available from September 26 to 28. In addition to cinema, two poetry sessions with jazz, and the festival's closing concert, there are three individual exhibitions that map drawing, collage, painting, and their thresholds during the weekend:
โ Suburbia 0.2, by Marta Amaral (on display until October 12, 2025), a reflection on the periphery through drawing and collage;
โ Silรชncio e Forma (Silence and Form), by Inรชs Galvรฃo (on display until October 19, 2025), which combines abstraction and figuration in 27 works in acrylic on paper, canvas, and collage, inviting reflection;
โ and Unfinished Images, by Joana Leitรฃo Salvador (on display until January 11, 2026), which brings together a vast collection that crosses painting and sculpture to map the author's poetic universe, including gouache, encaustic, monotypes, and ceramics.
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In addition to these, the public can also visit the permanent exhibition of the Dom Luรญs I Foundation's Fine Arts Collection, located on the ground floor of the CCC, which features painting, drawing, and sculpture collections, reflecting the Foundation's programmatic diversity, with Portuguese and international artists such as Graรงa Morais, Joรฃo Pedro Vale, and Rafael Canogar.
The Paula Rego House of Stories (CHPR) is joining the festival with the exhibition The CHPR Collection in Dialogue, which brings together the artist's permanent collection, owned by CMC, and selected works by guests. With this exhibition, the museum invites the public to reflect on themes such as myth, power, feminism, and memory. At the same time, artist Ana Torrie presents the exhibition O Inferno Sรฃo os Outros (Hell is Other People), a contemporary exploration of engraving and painting. Both exhibitions are open until October 26, 2025.
The Museu do Mar Rei D. Carlos welcomes Cristina Rodo with Sob a Superfรญcie (Under the Surface, on display until November 12, 2025), an exhibition of sculptural pieces and suspensions created using wet felting, offering a sensory immersion inspired by the ocean. The exhibition brings to Cascais an ancestral technique that is still little known in Portugal, with extended visiting hours until 9:00 p.m. during the festival.
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See more HERE
Publishers and bookstores
Throughout the Park, there will be editorial catalogs ranging from illustrated books to essays, from photo books to zines, with the presence of independently curated publishers and bookstores such as Gabinete Paratextual, Ediรงรตes da Ruรญna, Editora Passatempo, Opuntia Books, Sr Teste, Orfeu Negro, Greta Livraria, and Pato Lรณgico. There will also be well-known names from the Portuguese scene such as Antรญgona, alongside projects such as Chilli Com Carne, composing a vivid portrait of contemporary publishing where it is possible to discover first editions, short runs, and artist books.
Studios and artists
Among prints, screen printing series, and original objects, studios such as Estรบdio Trovoada, Ideias no Escuro, Oficina Loba, and Oficinas do Vale Mau showcase processes and behind-the-scenes work that are rarely made available to the public. The tour also makes room for local artists and authorsโfrom Inรชs Mojo to Mary Branco, including illustrator and tattoo artist Espirroโand invites visitors to take home unique signed pieces.
Music and labels
Independent music labels are also represented at this event, with labels and collectives such as Cafetra, Coletivo Lenha, and Out Of Order bringing vinyl, cassettes, and merchandise, while labels linked to electronic music and clubbing (Paraรญso, Rotten \ Fresh, All Nice Records, Golden Mist, and Atlantic Thunder) present catalog editions and new releases. Between reissued rarities and recent releases, the Fair offers a sound map of Portuguese alternative music, designed for discovery.
Gastronomy
In addition to this offering, a restaurant area with food trucks and a bar provides options for breaks during the circuit. The gastronomic space extends the experience, serving as an informal and welcoming meeting point.
