The second edition of Open Ateliers Olhão will take place from 18 to 20 September 2026, reinforcing the Municipality’s commitment to celebrating and promoting the visual arts, bringing them closer to the community and fostering a strong, dynamic and collaborative arts ecosystem.

Following the first edition, in 2025, which brought together 20 participants, the 2026 event will be significantly larger, with 68 artists, both Portuguese and international residents, taking part alongside 10 venues, including galleries, architecture studios and creative shops.

This new edition is the result of a collaborative process that began in March 2026, when the Municipality organised a meeting at the Municipal Auditorium attended by around 40 artists, venues and organisations working in the visual arts. 

To support the 32 artists who do not have studios of their own, the Municipality is making shared spaces available in the city centre, working with cultural organisations, hotels and architecture studios, as well as providing vacant retail spaces. This will create new opportunities for artists to produce and exhibit their work and engage directly with the public. 

The local school community will also be involved, with selected works by 17 pupils from the Dr Francisco Fernando Lopes School Cluster, specifically from the visual arts group at Olhão Secondary School, included in the event. Artistic works of four students from higher education also compose this event. Their participation gives emerging young artists an opportunity to present their work to a wider public while still in education. 

The programme spans a broad range of disciplines, with a particular focus on painting, photography, illustration and multidisciplinary practices, alongside architecture, sculpture, textiles, tilework, engraving and urban art.

To strengthen the connection between this flagship event and the wider community, the programme will also feature a series of guided tours, an artist mentoring programme, workshops led by participating artists, concerts and performances by musicians from Olhão, ranging from electronic music to rock, and two parties at República 14 - Associação Cultural and A Fábrica.

More than a one-off event, Open Ateliers Olhão aims to continue a living story: that of a place which artists have long chosen as a source of inspiration and a setting in which to create. 

Throughout the 20th century, Olhão attracted painters, writers, photographers and architects who found in the town a distinctive place from which to observe the world and develop their work. From Raul Brandão and Eduardo Viana to Mário Eloy, Artur Pastor and Roberto Nobre, many creative figures have, at different points in time, made Olhão a place for artistic work and reflection.

That tradition continues today. Olhão remains a place where creativity thrives, shaped by its distinctive light, atmosphere, everyday life and rich mix of people, all of which continue to inspire artists working across different forms and disciplines.