ArT of opEN doors, Rua de Santa Maria

In Funchal's old town, the doors themselves became the gallery. The ArT of opEN doors project turned Rua de Santa Maria into a walkable sequence of painted entrances, small facades, and mixed-media interventions, ranging from portraits and folk motifs to abstract compositions, fantasy scenes, and playful visual jokes. Its charm lies in scale and surprise: this is not muralism as giant monument but as intimate street texture. Artists, residents, and the city helped create a corridor where decay, tourism, hospitality, and creativity overlap. The local flavor is especially strong here—cobbled street, restaurants, Atlantic light, old houses, and painted doors that make the lane feel like a hybrid of neighborhood, gallery, and theater set.

Rua de Santa Maria, 9060-291 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal