The best sardines of the city festivals are on display

"Save the sardines" was the motto for the eighth edition of the contest. There are new sights to Lisbon, dreams and worries of fishermen painted on the winning sardines. And even the scarcity of the fish wasn't forgotten.

            The portico of Lisnave as "symbol of a landscape of the Tagus river less picturesque, more contemporary and democratic". A sardine set up with the garbage that appears on the beach, which is a call to attention to the environmental "conscience" of each one. A tribute to the dreams of the fishermen who revolve around the sardines. And of course, an appeal to contain fishing if we want sardines for more years of parties.

There are no more popular saints in Lisbon without the annual artistic catch. Although the motto was "Save the Sardine!", There were many who bit the bait to get the best. The winners were known this Friday and, although the proposals are dedicated to a party very Portuguese, confirm that this is a contest with influences from around the world.

In the eighth year of life, the networks of the Equipment Management and Cultural Animation Company (EGEAC), from the Lisbon City Hall, collected 3726 proposals from 63 countries - from Argentina to Belarus and from the USA to Japan, through New Zealand or Vietnam.

Of the five winners, only one has a national hand. It is Paulo Veiga, the artistic name Paveia, the Portuguese who remembered the garbage that walks the seas and the evil that can do to the sardine. But there are also sardines from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Italy and Canada, by the hand of Arthur Duarte, 29, Anna Kocová, 30, Stefanos Antoniadis, 35, and Boris Biberdzic, 32, respectively. Each receives a prize of two thousand euros.

In addition to the proposals chosen by the jury, the public, through an online vote, chose five more for honorable mentions. Those responsible for attesting the quality of the species were the plastic artist Bordalo II, the illustrator Catarina Sobral, the announcer Joana Cruz and the "father of the sardine", Jorge Silva, and also the EGEAC.

So that the sardines are not wasted, nor the art of those who filled their silhouette, the Millenium Gallery on Augusta Street will host an exhibition to get to know them. From Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., you will be able to see the result of the fishery. From Tuesday to Saturday, on the 2nd floor of the gallery, those who want to create their fish, with the help of illustrators at Atelier Sardinha.