EDP promotes exhibition on the last days of Sines Power Station
“Stories from a recent past” tells of the last months of the coal plant. The exhibition, promoted by EDP to celebrate the people who made up their history over the last 35 years, opens to the public today, in Sines.
The recent memories of the largest thermoelectric power plant in the country are at the center of the photography exhibition that opens its doors to the public this Friday, July 23, in the center of the city of Sines. Throughout dozens of images recorded by photographer Paulo Coelho in the last months of operation of the EDP plant, it is possible to discover or revisit the industrial space where workers, machines and coal produced energy for more than 35 years.
The exhibition 'Stories from a recent past' – organized by EDP Produção with the support of Sines City Council – is thus a tribute to all who were part of the life of this plant and to the community where it took roots in the 1980 decade. Curated by Hugo Dinis, the photography exhibition can be visited at Capela da Misericórdia, next to Sines Castle, until the 23rd of October.
From giant boilers to a maze of tubes and control devices, going through mountains of coal and the imposing chimneys, 225 meters high, which still mark the landscape of Sines, numerous are the images and references that can be seen in this exhibition – in all of them, the people are the core figures and the main motivation is to remember their work and contribution.
Inaugurated in 1985, the Sines Thermoelectric Power Plant was the largest energy-producing center in the country: it produced 294 TWh of energy throughout its lifetime, supplying one third of the population. Also famous for contributing to the warm waters of São Torpes beach – due to the proximity of the outlet of sea water used to cool the plant – it closed definitely on the 15th of January. The decision to shut down, as part of EDP's de-carbonization strategy and in line with the country's energy transition goals, was made in a context in which energy production is increasingly dependent on renewable sources.
The chapel known as 'Capela da Misericórdia', in Sines, reopens to the public with this photographic exhibition, after restoration work carried out by Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Sines and financed by EU funds, with the support of Sines City Council. With over four centuries of history, this heritage is now a privileged cultural space framed in the great axis that connects the Arts Center to the Castle/Museum of Sines, where the venues Casa Forte and Roman Factory have just been inaugurated.
“Stories from a recent past - Sines Thermoelectric Power Station”
Photography: Paulo Coelho
Curatorship: Hugo Dinis
Venue: Capela da Misericórdia de Sines
Dates: July 23 to October 23, 2021
Opening Times: 10am-1pm / 2:30 pm-6 pm (closed on Mondays)
Access: free - subject to Covid protection rules (mandatory use of mask and hand disinfection)
Curator Hugo Dinis
Hugo Dinis (Lisbon, 1977) graduated in Fine Arts – Painting (1998/2004), at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon. He completed a postgraduate degree in Curatorial Studies (2005/06), at the same college and at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
He won the Award for Curatorship at the Atelier-Museum Júlio Pomar/EGEAC 2016, with the project "Strange recent days of a lesser happy time" (2017).
He curated the exhibition Me (title under construction) (2015), at Espaço Novo Banco, in Lisbon. He commissioned the exhibition entitled "Un-build the man" (2008), at Municipal Gallery Paços do Concelho, Dois paços Municipal Gallery and Transforma venue in Torres Vedras, within the scope of the itinerant project Antena of the Serralves Foundation, Porto. Along with Emília Ferreira, he commissioned the solo exhibition "Blind date" (2020) by Pedro Gomes at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC), Lisbon. He curated the solo exhibition "Beauty and Mean" (2019) by Ana Vidigal at the Leopoldo de Almeida Museum, Caldas da Rainha.
He worked as an assistant at Galeria 111 (2008/11) and Galeria Filomena Soares (2011/16), both in Lisbon. He collaborated as a producer, researcher and curator at the Atelier-Museum Júlio Pomar/EGEAC (2017/19).
Since 2020, he has worked at Culturgest as a production assistant for the Caixa Geral de Depósitos Collection.
Paulo Alexandre Coelho
Paulo Coelho (Cascais, 1981) graduated at Escola Profissional de Comunicação e Imagem. He has a professional course in Audiovisual Techniques (EPCI). Henri Cartier-Bresson and James Nachtwey were his inspiration and influence in the decision to dedicate himself to photojournalism.
He began his professional career at Diário de Notícias, worked for the sports newspaper "O Jogo" and, in 2006, was invited to join the staff of the now extinct Semanário Económico. From 2009 to 2016, he was part of the Diário Económico photography team.
In partnership with AMI (International Medical Assistance), he carried out a photographic project on the Bijagós archipelago, in Guinea Bissau, which resulted in an exhibition, displayed in Lisbon, Porto and Monforte (2009).
In 2017, he participated in the collective exhibition “A lonely image”, where the revenue of the photo sales was donated to the Volunteer Firefighters of Castanheira de Pêra.
He participated in the collective exhibition with the theme “work”, organized by the Union of Journalists, at São Jorge Theater (2019). This exhibition was part of the congress of journalists program, and was inaugurated by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Professor Doctor Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Internationally, he published in CNN.com, Guardian, among others.
