Museum of Vila do Bispo

Barn of History

Educational and Cultural Mediation Service

Since its geneses, the Museum of Vila do Bispo - Barn of History was committed to establishing itself as a distinctive forum for the Local Community, returning the symbolic space and the memories stored within it to its people, thereby refocusing it on its new socio-cultural mission - from the Granary of Wheat to the Barn of History! In this sense, our Educational and Cultural Mediation Service systematically engages with the generations who witnessed the working life of the old ‘Granary of Vila do Bispo’, identifying first-hand accounts, cultural figures and key participants in the activities once carried out around the building erected at Sítio das Eiras.

By building an effective and emotional, inclusive and participatory bridge with the Community, its diverse audiences and wide range of visitors, it prioritises the School Community, across all levels of education, the Families, as vital social units, and the Senior Community, as a repository of accumulated experience, valuing knowledge of the territory's Collective Heritage and promoting a sense of community belonging and shared responsibility for the Natural and Cultural Heritage preserved at the Landscape Museum of Vila do Bispo.

In another way, our Educational and Cultural Mediation Service also aims to promote children’s sociability and raise awareness among the youngest members of the community regarding Citizenship and Local Identity, to contribute to the inclusive integration of children and families of foreign origin, and to encourage intergenerational relationships and sharing, as well as joint participation in recreational and educational initiatives centred on Local and Collective Heritage. With the Senior Community, in addition to encouraging engagement and personal development, it promotes the recording of traditional knowledge at risk of being forgotten, valuing its important contribution to the transmission of knowledge and traditions, which lies at the heart of the process of building and maintaining the Community’s Collective Memory.

For the general public, our Educational and Cultural Mediation Service offers a wide and varied programme that includes guided tours to the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Vila do Bispo, temporary exhibitions, artistic and educational workshops, interpretative tours to sites and monuments, conferences, lectures and round-table discussions, documentary film screenings and cycles, traditional music performances, among other cultural engagement and dissemination initiatives ...