Artcatto gallery in Loulé is currently playing host to the first exhibition of animation art in Portugal. At the inaugural party in November, the gallery became alive with laughter and wonderment as guests admired the actual cels from Disney films and The Simpsons (20th Century Fox) which were on display.
The children were looked after with all kinds of edible goodies such as special Mickey and Minnie biscuits designed and baked by Yvonne Slough of Made In Sugar.
An entire room was dedicated to watching all the best animation films on a large screen TV. Guests were able to understand the hard work and talent that went into the making of the hand-painted cels. Most animation today is computer-generated.
Following on from this, Artcatto brought over from America new pieces of animation art for a larger exhibition held over two days at the Conrad Hotel in Quinta do Lago. This time, real live Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse characters were there to greet the children.
Joachim Hartl, the General Manager of the hotel, ,and his team transformed the hotel into a Hollywood scene. A bright red 1960s red Cadillac, formerly owned by Muhamed Ali, was driven into the centre of the ballroom which had stalls of hotdogs, hamburgers, candy floss and popcorn.
Graham Parker, an animation expert, flew in as a guest of the Conrad to give two talks on the wonders of animation.
The children of the International School São Lourenço had visited the Loulé exhibition at the end of last year and created their own animation strips, with the help of their teacher Jennifer Kieran, which are now hung at the exhibition at the Conrad.
Cinematic magic
Gillian Catto, who had first brought animation art to England 22 years ago, was thrilled at the response of both young and old to these exhibitions.
She said: “This is such a great opportunity for everyone to appreciate this art form and own a little piece of cinematic magic and history.”
The exhibition continues at ArtCatto and the Conrad until the end of January.
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