This is nuts!
➔ Manicómio
This story begins with a strange coincidence, which illustrates how small and familiar Lisbon can get.
When Sandro Resende and José Azevedo started imagining Manicómio [Portuguese word for mad house], they realized they needed two things: a studio for people with mental health problems to develop their artwork and a gallery to exhibit them.
After visiting a warehouse suggested by the Lisbon Port Authority, the two founders met at a restaurant to discuss the offer. Oddly enough, sitting at the next table, they overheard two strangers talking about Manicómio: “Let’s go check out the crazy people”.
It took this episode to make them realize that Manicómio’s mission - to take mental health patients out of the health facilities environment and promote their integration - would be better served by a place that gathered people with and without mental health problems, with different forms of expression and occupations. After consulting with a friend who had founded a cowork, Manicómio landed in Beato.
Fighting the stigma
Three years later, just a 2 minute walk from Factory Lisbon’s office, a diverse group of artists spend their days working at NOW’s open space, side by side with a mix of designers, architects, techies and social impact entrepreneurs.
When you step into the open space, you can’t differentiate who suffers from a mental health condition and who doesn’t. According to Sandro, “if our people exist in an environment where other occupants don't look at them as mental health patients but as artists, then the people who visit Manicómio’s store will also look at them as artists. That’s crucial to break the social stigma and give them back their human dignity”.
Another interesting output of this project comes from the daily interaction with other professionals.
“The human interactions generated at Manicómio allow people to exchange new kinds of knowledge. This social dynamic is therapeutic for everyone there - not just the patients”, explains Sandro.
Monthy Python is in the house
What started as an artwork studio for some 20 people with mental health problems and soon became a gallery as well, then changed into a creative hub that invites us in - but it also steps outside and shows their art brut. Manicómio now partners with galleries and museums and participates in international exhibitions (New York and Paris).
More recently, they started to work with large corporations and brands. Manicómio’s goal is to create awareness about how people need to talk to each other and to pay attention to each other, and how dignity is important in human relationships, whether you have a mental health condition, or not.
On the other hand, brands came looking for social responsibility projects and ended up collaborating with Manicómio artists in product design. Chocolate and wine were some of the most interesting experiences, which convinced the founders that there is a market for a design agency. When we ask Sandro for the name of this spin-off, he laughs and says:
“It’s called The Agência, half in Portuguese and half in English, just to be a bit bipolar — and because we love Monty Python and their special kind of nonsense.”
Get a job
It’s not easy to find work for people with mental health disorders. “The rate of unemployment for these people is huge”, states Sandro. “At our agency, we hire designers and other jobs exclusively among them, otherwise they have little chance within standard companies. Of course we don’t put out job descriptions saying “if you are depressive or schizophrenic, come join us!” - but people know where to look for us and submit an application.”
Today, the design agency works with the likes of Vanguard financial services, CUFhospital group or Viúva Lamego, the Portuguese almost two century-old handmade tiles.
It had to be Beato
Most of the restaurants and coffee houses around Beato have been there for decades and are run by Portuguese. Sandro explains how he appreciates sitting for lunch and talking to these people.
“I think the artists feel good in this neighborhood. It’s not too crowded and not too touristy. It’s still rather authentic.”
He points out one major challenge, though: “Transportation. Some of our people take three buses to get here. I know solutions are being developed but I think we should have free transportation to Santa Apolónia or to Cais de Sodré, to improve the area and keep it growing.”
