A series of four exhibitions featuring 400 antique items of bobbin, hairpin, tatting, filet and crocheted lace from the various Azores islands.
This is an initiative from the Regional Secretariat for the Economy through the Regional Centre for Handicrafts in conjunction with Adeliaçor, the association for the development of the Azores islands. Its main aim is the appreciation and promotion of a genuine, certified product, namely the traditional lace of the Pico and Faial islands.
The exhibition opened at the Capitães Generais Palace in Angra do Heroísmo on 23 June and remained open to the public during the Sanjoaninas festival week.
A second exhibition was held at Madalena do Pico from 12 to 24 July and a third at the Amor da Pátria society in Horta from 31 July to 8 August during the Semana do Mar festival.
Despite the diverse origins and types of items on display, the best examples of hand-made lace from our region come from the islands of Pico and Faial and date back to the mid 20th century, an important period in the history of Azorean emigration to the American continent.
The 1950s marked a golden age in the production of crocheted lace from these islands, which was exported on a large scale to the United States of America, mainland Portugal and the other islands in the Archipelago.
We aim to tell the story of our cultural heritage and, above all, the story of a hand-made present-day cultural product that can be appreciated and discovered by everyone who visits us.
This travelling exhibition has already been visited by approximately 1,500 people and is now on show at the Conceição Palace in Ponta Delgada from 28 September to 29 October.