The old Cooperativa Agrícola de Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo, Tavira, is to be converted into Museum Zero, with its promoters erroneously claiming this will represent "a first for digital art in Europe."
The inspiration behind the avant garde project is Paulo Teixeira Pinto, a former president of Banco Comercial Português (Millennium), an artist and art collector, who lives locally.
The goal is to open in 2020 for exhibitions, based on light, image and sound, in the old 1950s silos and warehouses of the Cooperativa.
Museum Zero will cost around €1.9 million, funded 70% by EU funds through CRESC Algarve2020.
In the opinion of Secretary of State, Maria do Céu Albuquerque, who attended a pre-opening, this is a project that shows how European funds can "support regional development"
The mayor of Tavira, Jorge Botelho, commented, "What happens here will attract the public, will attract investment and will show that this region has a future."
The museum project already has attracted interest from the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology in Lisbon (MATT), the Calouste Gulbekian Foundation, the Ars Electronica Arts Center, Linz and the University of the Algarve.
