“Behind every door lies a story, behind every story lies a life”

BEHIND EVERY DOOR LIES A STORY, BEHIND EVERY STORY LIES A LIFE

An exhibition in the form of an archive
April 16th to December 31st, 2026
Castro Daire Municipal Library (Portugal)

A production by the Castro Daire Municipal Library in collaboration with Binaural Nodar, part of the Memória Sobre Rodas project and the Tramontana Network, a project co-funded by the Creative Europe program.

The exhibition “Behind every door a story, behind every story a life” opened on April 16, attended by the Honorable Counselor for Culture of the Municipality of Castro Daire, Prof. Marco Andrade, and hosted by Dr. Marta Carvalhal, director of the Castro Daire Municipal Library.

This exhibition is a living journey through the memories and knowledge of Castro Daire, honoring the lives of those who shaped traditions with their own hands. There, among ancient doors with shutters that hold secrets and stories, the crafts that gave soul to the land are revealed: village trade, the art of basket weaving, black clay pottery, the making of clogs, the hammering of wrought iron, and weaving.

The result of a dialogue between the team at the Castro Daire Municipal Library, this exhibition took as its starting point some old doors with shutters that a collaborator, Goreti Coelho, made available, as well as documentation from the Memory on Wheels project—a digital archive that since 2018 has preserved the voices and memories of local people, including some artisans who have since passed away—and the inspiration of a collaborator who brought.

Here, the doors symbolize the entrance to personal and collective worlds; the objects come to life, lent by families, while poetic texts selected by the library director, Marta Carvalhal, weave emotional connections with memory.

Amid baskets, pottery, ironwork, textiles, clogs, and market scales, the exhibition is a tribute to Porfírio Ferreira, Mestre José Maria Rodrigues, Mestre Albino Ribeiro, José Loureiro, Dália de Almeida, João Silva, Albertino Duarte, and so many others who, by opening their doors, shared a lifetime of knowledge and love for the land.

Photographs by Luís Costa (Binaural Nodar).

Credits:

Curated by: Marta Carvalhal and Luís Costa
Original concept: Cláudia Almeida
Exhibition design: Cláudia Almeida, Goreti Coelho, Jaime Sequeira, Bruna Medeiros, and Sandra Silva.
Selection of poetic texts: Marta Carvalhal.
Drawings: Liliana Silva
Graphic design: Luís Costa
Featuring objects, texts, and images by Porfírio Ferreira (basket weaver), José Maria Rodrigues (potter), Albino Ribeiro (potter), José Loureiro (“Zé Ferreiro,” blacksmith), Dália de Almeida (merchant), João Silva (clog maker), and Albertino Duarte (fabric weaver).

Binaural Nodar is a cultural organization supported by the Portuguese Republic – Culture, Youth, and Sports | Directorate-General for the Arts.