Making Space for Creativity

What does it really mean to make art accessible?

It can mean being able to walk into a gallery without feeling that specialist knowledge is required. But access can also begin much earlier and in much simpler ways: a child being given the freedom to express something they cannot yet put into words, a family spending an afternoon making something together, or an opportunity to meet a practising artist and discover how they see the world.

In each case, the important shift is from observing creativity to participating in it.

This idea sits at the heart of much of the Sovereign Art Foundation's work in Portugal, where programmes range from expressive arts therapy for children to free community workshops, exhibitions and initiatives supporting professional artists. The activities are deliberately varied because there is no single way to experience, or benefit from, art.

Different spaces, different purposes

At the core of the Foundation's charitable work is Make It Better Portugal, its expressive arts therapy programme for children and young people.

Led by certified expressive arts therapists, the programme currently operates across Lisbon, Estremoz and the Algarve. These are structured therapeutic sessions rather than art classes. The emphasis is not on artistic ability or producing a finished piece, but on providing a safe environment in which creative processes can support communication, confidence and emotional expression.

Alongside this therapeutic work runs a separate programme of free community workshops.

These sessions have a different purpose. Open to children, families and, frequently, anyone who wants to join, they are opportunities to experiment, meet artists and simply enjoy making something together.

Many are developed in collaboration with practising artists, whose own techniques, materials and ideas become the starting point for an accessible activity. Recent workshops have moved between collage and self-portraiture, nature and sculpture, Persian storytelling, collaborative installation and filmmaking.

There is no expectation of previous experience and, importantly, no pressure to create something "good". The value is in participation.

Creativity moves south

This September, that community programme will reach Loulé for the first time, with a free family workshop inspired by the natural landscape of the Algarve.

Taking place at The Mill on 12 September, the afternoon begins outdoors. Families will be encouraged to slow down and look more closely at their surroundings, observing colours, forms and textures before gathering natural materials to use in their creations.

The workshop is designed for children of all ages accompanied by an adult, making the experience something families can participate in together rather than an activity where parents simply drop children off and wait.

It is being hosted in collaboration with Rêverie, whose work encourages people to slow down, connect with nature and explore creativity, and Leonor Isidoro, the certified psychologist and expressive arts therapist who works with the Sovereign Art Foundation's Algarve programme.

From participating in art to encountering artists

Making art accessible also means creating opportunities to encounter the people who make it professionally.

The Sovereign Art Foundation was originally established with a dual purpose: to support contemporary artists while using the arts to help children and young people. More than two decades later, those two strands continue to intersect.

In Portugal, this can be seen particularly clearly through the Foundation's community programmes.

Joana Mollett, a finalist in the 2025 Sovereign Portuguese Art Prize, later welcomed children and families into her studio in Sintra. Participants explored the woodland surrounding the studio, collected natural objects and returned inside to transform their discoveries into characters and sculptures using clay.

Other artists connected through exhibitions, galleries and SAF's wider creative network have similarly translated aspects of their professional practice into workshops for children and families.

It creates an interesting cycle. Artists are given platforms through exhibitions, prizes, residencies and talks, while their ideas and experience can subsequently find their way back into the wider community.

Supporting professional artists and creating opportunities for children to experience art therefore need not be separate ambitions. One can feed the other.

A new chapter for the Professional Prize

September will also see the Foundation turn its attention back towards Portugal's professional artistic community, with the finalists of the 2026 Sovereign Portuguese Art Prize due to be announced shortly.

The Prize brings together 30 shortlisted works by contemporary artists working in Portugal, selected from hundreds of nominations and submissions. The finalists will ultimately be exhibited together in Lisbon, giving audiences an opportunity to encounter a broad snapshot of contemporary artistic practice and vote for the work that resonates most strongly with them.

For the artists, being shortlisted can bring valuable visibility, introduce their work to new audiences and create connections with collectors, curators and fellow practitioners. For visitors, bringing 30 very different artists together in one exhibition creates an opportunity to discover the breadth of contemporary art being made in Portugal today.

The public vote adds another dimension to that experience, inviting visitors to consider which work stays with them and ultimately choose their own favourite. There is no requirement to agree with the judges, or indeed with anyone else. The value lies in looking, responding and forming a personal connection with the art.

More than something to look at

Access to creativity can therefore take many forms.

For one child, it might begin in an expressive arts therapy session, with a box of materials and the freedom to communicate without relying entirely on words. For another family, it might begin outdoors in Loulé, turning something found beneath a tree into something unexpected. For an artist, it might mean having their work selected for an exhibition and seen by an entirely new audience.

These experiences are very different, but they share a simple principle: art becomes more meaningful when people are given opportunities not simply to look at it, but to feel part of it.

With a new season of programmes beginning across Portugal and the 2026 Sovereign Portuguese Art Prize finalists soon to be revealed, September offers plenty of opportunities to do exactly that.

Nature into Art: A Family Workshop in Loulé

Saturday 12 September 2026 | 15:00–17:30
The Mill, Loulé, Algarve

A free nature-inspired creative workshop for children of all ages and their families. No artistic experience is required and all materials are provided.

Participation is free, but places are limited and advance registration is required. ~

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/da-natureza-a-arte-uma-oficina-para-familias-em-loule-tickets-1997143235178?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

Vote online and explore the shortlisted Student Prize artworks:
https://www.sovereignartfoundation.com/sp-portugal/

Find out more about the Sovereign Art Foundation’s work in Portugal:

https://www.sovereignartfoundation.com/expressive-arts-programme-portugal/

Follow SAF Portugal on Instagram:
@sovereignartfoundationportugal

Sovereign Art Foundation Portugal
📧 Tanya@sovereignartfoundation.com