The exhibition "Plasticity – A History of Plastics in Portugal": A participative process at the Leiria Museum

Abstract

As part of the project “O Triunfo da Baquelite – Contributos para uma História dos Plásticos em Portugal” (2016-2019), the exhibition Plasticidade – Uma História dos Plásticos em Portugal (2019-2021) was organized on the history of plastic materials, in partnership with the Leiria Museum. The exhibition highlighted the importance of plastics, its relationship with the history of industry, design, consumption and mentalities, and science and technology in Portugal, through a process of musealization. In this article we reflect on the exhibition, its objectives and approaches, and on the formation of a collection of plastics, through a participatory process with the communities. In addition, the novelty in considering these materials as “museum objects” led to the analysis of its conservation and restoration issues. The article emphasises the relevance of this project, whether from the point of view of research, or the contribution to the musealization of these types of objects and its preservation. With the creation of a collection and an exhibition at the Leiria Museum, we contributed to fill the gap with a collection dedicated to plastics, reflecting a history of plastics in its multiple aspects of usability in society.