The centre of Funchal hosts, between September 17 and 19, the second edition of Enseada – Festival of Arts in Funchal, promoted by the City Council. The event presents around 30 shows and brings together more than 200 artists and 20 associations, in a programme that covers music, visual arts, performances, workshops and interventions in public space. This year's edition focuses particularly on Madeiran artistic creation, through new projects and works specifically commissioned for the festival.
The programme is distributed across three main stages: the Municipal Garden Auditorium, Yellow Square and Admiral Reis Garden. Among the highlights is the "Windows with Art" project, which associates 26 traditional commerce establishments with contemporary artists on arteries like Rua da Sé, Rua das Pretas, Rua Ivens and Rua da Alfândega, among others. The goal is to bring artistic creation closer to everyday city life and invite the public to discover local commerce.
In visual arts, the festival includes the sound installation "Republic of Bananas", by Tomás Camacho, at the sub-stage of the Municipal Theatre Baltazar Dias, and "Hidden from the Soil", by Sara Rodrigues, at the Artistic Creation Studio of Funchal. One of the largest-scale moments is scheduled for the night of September 19, when the company S.A. Marionetas – Theatre & Puppets presents "Lúmen, a love story", with puppets of approximately five metres in height and approximately 50 participants.
The show begins at 9:30 pm at Campo da Barca and proceeds in procession along Rua João de Deus and Rua do Bom Jesus to Praça do Município, combining music, movement and community participation. With free entry, Enseada proposes three days in which gardens, squares, streets, shops and cultural facilities of Funchal transform into a route dedicated to artistic creation.
