Museum of Time (Museo del Tiempo)
Participatory art project that combines street theater, narration, drawing and music.
Museum of Time has its origins in the novel Momo (1973) by Michael Ende, which reflects on the concept of time and its use in modern societies. With the aim of protecting the past time, people who participate in this project will walk through their neighborhood or town to protect their memories. Memories that will be kept in a box and will be buried, in a public ritual accompanied by music.
Memories that will leave a trace: a map and seven QR codes. The burial sites will be indicated on the map, with a brief overview of the buried objects, so that other people can follow the same path, take the same journey of memory, turning this project into a collective museum. Next to each buried object there will be a QR code containing all the information about the object.
Museum of Time is an alternative to the traditional museum, without current expenses or maintenance costs, without environmental impact, only visible to the visitor who wants to know it.
Museum of Time is an artistic mediation project and a proposal for participation and dialogue that has made the leap to other disciplines, such as literature or performing arts.
Developed for the first time in Evora and Viseu (Portugal) in 2004, it has been carried out in several Spanish cities, such as Alcalá de Henares (festival Teatralia), Valencia (festival VEO), Benicarló (MUCBE), Benicàssim, Vilafranca and Viver (Castellón). In 2024 it went back to Portugal, as part of the artistic programme to commemorate Portimão Centenary.
Artistic team:
Creation and direction: Jose Antonio Portillo
Sound creation and music: Julián González
Map ilustration: Carmen Puchol
Compilation and composition of texts: Nuria Aparici
Executive production: Unnica Arts
Fotography and communication: Antonio Portillo y David Cárcel
Printing: Benigraphic
QR code: Gsol