Lisboa Through the Eyes of Urban Sketchers at the Maritime Museum

Many of us already know about Urban Sketchers’ blog or have an artistic friend of a friend who has participated in their meet-ups somewhere in the world. Atlas has been a fan of Urban Sketchers’ work for a while and is excited to have highlighted some of their interpretations of Lisbon on our website. So naturally, when we heard about the debut show of the USk book, Lisbon por/by Urban Sketchers, we were thrilled.

On Friday, October 23 at 18h30, the Maritime Museum in Belém will host the official release of the title, published by Zest Books. In more than 120 drawings, 45 different artists illustrate just how magical our city can look on paper through various mediums (the publisher is especially impressed at the way watercolors have captured Lisbon´s light).

Step beyond the souvenir canvasses of monuments and tourist traps, and into the heart of the city—the secret hideaways and corner café tables we lisboetas call home. Eduardo Salavisa and publisher Nuno Seabra Lopes explain to us what the book and the community are all about.

ATLAS: Urban Sketchers’ mission is to use art as a graphic diary. If we were to read your personal graphic diary, what kind of story would it tell?

 

SALAVISA: The little stories of everyday life. Those in which the routine leaves us blind and unveils the design.

The Concept: Lopes: The director of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Council of Lisbon, architect Jorge Ramos de Carvalho, put us in touch to see what we could do. The concept was then worked out jointly between Zest and the directors of Urban Sketchers.

Just a month ago, we published the book Best of Street Art Portugal 2014, which had the support of most of Portugal’s graffiti and street artists. They can be bought at most bookstores, as well as through our website.

ATLAS: What is the best way to capture the light and life here in Lisbon?

 

Salavisa: What I use: pen and watercolor.

Other Urban Sketchers Books: Salavisa: In 2011, published a book of drawings, Urban Sketchers em Lisboa Desenhando a Cidade, with Quimera publishing. There is another book: Diários de Viagem em Lisboa. Sete colinas, sete desenhadores. Both are bilingual (in Portuguese and English). The books are a collaboration of around 150 illustrators from more than 20 countries. You can buy them at the Centro de Arte Moderna na Gulbenkian  or the bookstore Palavra de Viajante.

Go and see the city like you’ve never seen it before in one of Lisbon’s most underrated and coolest museums. Meet some incredible artists.

And bring a pen and some paper.