This is Lapo: a Café, Atelier (gallery and shop), and Sala Provador (fitting and tasting room); it is the dream-project of our friends Bruna and António, who have appeared in the blog in previous posts.
Our journey with Lapo begins with our visit during a past Christmas, when we view the raw, gutted building. It's a former bakery and work space, with the remnants of a kind of club upstairs. They describe their plans, and I'm bewildered as I think about how much work it may take to bring their dream to life. I'm also not completely sure I understand how all the pieces fit together.
"é um espaço dedicado à intervenção cultural e à liberdade artística" (it is a space dedicated to cultural intervention and artistic freedom)
Less than two years later, we are sitting in their beautiful Café, talking about that work and the launch of the project. I'm amazed at what my friends have been able to accomplish. The Café is bright, filled with books, magazines, and vinyl records. Some patrons are drinking and reading, while another group is working around a laptop. They are surrounded by Bruna's graphic artworks, which begins to reveal the attitude that drives the space. Free-thinkers and peace-makers are represented in tiles and prints. António is the philosopher; the space is intended to provoke. Art, performance, politics, music, movies, food and drink are all incorporated so visitors may be nourished in several dimensions.
At street-level is the Atelier, an art gallery with a mission to nurture like-minded artists. The space is filled with ceramic sculptures from a mother-daughter duo that lives in the woods of Northern Portugal – so the figures and the animals paint a broader, but still intimate image of the country. Bruna's artwork is also on display, with framed tile pieces, posters, and graphic t's. The space is filled with color, humor, and positive energy.
Behind a curtain is the Sala Provador – a fitting room where, during the day, customers may try on the shirts. Slide open the mirror, and through the looking glass is a tasting room, a restaurant open at night. At the far end of the dining room is a small stage, where Bruna and António a can invite story tellers, musicians, and artists to share their works with the diners, fostering thought and conversation. Thinking back on the state of the space when we saw it two Christmases ago, I'm absolutely floored at the size, quality, and character of the room. It's unique, experimental, and fun.
Our arrival in Lisbon is mirrored by the departure of a member of Lapo's staff. Thursday is the last day of work for Emma, a lively, well-travelled young lady, who speaks English with a British accent (ie "no" accent?). António is particularly heart-broken to lose a trusted and hard-working staffer; she is clearly much more than an employee to Bruna and António We all share stories of our travels, our plans, and immediately hit it off. But António is still concerned that he might not have the same "luck" in finding someone to replace Emma. I try to console him: by putting out positive energy and keeping a thoughtful mission, you will attract good people. The project is not just a business, it's a community that brings people together.
So many great words, so many positive intentions. Does it work? Two days later we are having a wonderful dinner with our friend Jennifer at Alpendre near the Sé (cathedral). It's home-cooked Portuguese food served by a practical-joking wait-staff – it was Jennifer who took us on a tour of Telheiras. We are describing Lapo to Jennifer when she suddenly stops and asks, "Does Bruna have a twin sister? I think I know Bruna's family." In all Lisbon, we know maybe six people; how is it that these people are somehow connected? Jennifer shows us a picture of Bruna's aunt and Bruna's mother on her phone – Bruna's mother is on Jennifer's phone.
We decide to take dessert at Lapo and share this amazing coincidence with Bruna and António We all sit down for another round of story-telling and connection-making. I'm still not sure what to make of this coincidence, an utterly mind-blowing piece of serendipity. But is has to be some kind of proof that Lapo is working. People are finding each other. The culture grows. The world gets better.
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