The National Museum of Contemporary Art - MNAC includes in the international exhibition “Carnations and Velvet - Art and Revolution in Portugal and Czechoslovakia (1968-1974-1989)” the film “São 50 mil Rosas senhor Havel ... e um carro” (50.000 roses, mr Havel... and a car) by Jacinto Godinho, researcher at CICANT, and Carlos Oliveira.
The exhibition opened on July 19 and runs until October 27, 2024.
Know more about the exhibition here.
About the film
Prague. Národni Avenue. Just a few hands. This discreet monument is the most revered symbol of the Velvet Revolution. Here, 30 years ago, the police cornered thousands of students who were demonstrating peacefully.
Between his hands usually rests a rose, regularly and diligently placed there by strangers. The rose has been a symbol of the Velvet Revolution since December 9, 1989. On that day, a group of young people broke through the so-called “Iron Curtain” to support the demonstrations. They were Portuguese. They brought 50,000 roses and a car for Vaclav Havel, the new president chosen after the revolution. The Czechs never forgot them.
In Prague, the Municipal Gallery held the major exhibition, Carnations and Velvet, in April 2019. It brought together stories from two peaceful revolutions and paired them with works by renowned Czech and Portuguese artists. The exhibition has now opened in Portugal at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) as part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of April 25.