On January 17th, the Pátio das Gerações hosted the 1st Collaborative Workshop of the cycle dedicated to the Cultural Center Convento de S. José, under the theme: “Four decades of Culture: And now, what future do we want?” The event brought together around 25 participants, including local community members and representatives of cultural associations, to reflect on the future of the space and its programming.

The session employed methodologies such as Collective Cultural Mapping, Collaborative Design, and Democratic Synthesis, which enabled participants to identify needs, discuss challenges, and propose solutions. Divided into groups, participants worked on four main topics:

• Inspiring experiences in Lagoa and other convent buildings.
• Needs felt over the past decades in the use of the space.
• Issues and gaps in the current programming, community participation, and contemporary themes.Wishes and dreams for the near future.

Ideas were recorded on color-coded post-its (yellow, green, blue, and orange) and placed on a wall where the floor plan of the Convent was projected, highlighting the cloister as the central point of discussion.

The cycle of Collaborative Workshops aims to strengthen dialogue with the community, promoting their active participation in creating a cultural program that reflects the interests and challenges identified by the space’s users. After completing the four planned workshops, the collected ideas will be analyzed and transformed into concrete proposals to energize the Cultural Center Convento de S. José.

This was the first step in a process that promises to place the community at the heart of cultural decisions, reaffirming the Convent as a living, participatory, and inclusive space. The next workshop is already scheduled, continuing this pioneering initiative.