The Salt of Democracy. Mário Soares and Culture

Mário Soares was an avid and tireless reader, an assiduous and prolific writer, a curious and fascinated art lover. His love for all forms of creation that seek to express our loftiest dreams and probe the deepest mysteries of our human condition made him a persistent collector of books, rare editions, manuscripts, autographs, dedications and letters. And also works of art: painting, drawing, sculpture, tapestry, photography and engraving. 

In his various homes, he lived surrounded by art and culture. In his own personal and familiar world, what he wanted and enjoyed most was to immerse himself in the inspiring and all-encompassing company of art in all its forms. A cosmopolitan citizen of the world, whenever he travelled, no matter how short his stay, he unfailingly visited the local museums, art galleries, exhibitions, artists’ studios and bookshops. 

In all the high state positions he held, he always stayed in touch with the cultural issues and events of the day, spending time with leading artists and cultural figures in Portugal and abroad, many of whom were or became his friends. 

For him, this proximity served as a stimulus for his own activity, for his choices and decisions. That is why he once said: “Culture is the salt of democracy.” 

This phrase has been chosen as the title for this exhibition, which shows the more private aspects (but also the fundamental public repercussions) of an individual life and the decisive influence that this has had on our own collective life and the construction of a new, European and democratic Portugal. 

The exhibition The Salt of Democracy — Mário Soares and Culture marks the centenary of Mário Soares’ birth and offers us a glimpse of his friendship with writers and artists, many of whom were his companions in the struggle for freedom, and highlights his constant interest and concern for what they were doing. It illustrates his own activity as a writer and shows the most fundamental references of his political and cultural thought. It also reveals the solidity of Soares’ vast cultural knowledge, his careful concern for the preservation of memory, his forward-looking impulse and his open and curious mind, his enthusiastic interest in new things, his attention to diversity and difference, his active desire to know and discover more and to keep up to date, and his fervent need to be surprised by contemporary creation and new ideas.