On 28 November 2025, the Leira Prison School inaugurated an art residency entitled “The doors that poetry has opened”, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice of the Government of the Portuguese Republic – Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services, with the support of ZET – Gallery e di Fundação Jornada.
The Prisão-Escola de Leiria, the school prison in Leiria, hosted the opening of one of the "Porte della Speranza" in Portugal, offering new hope to its young inmates. This project was entrusted to the artist Ilídio Candja.
The installation
The artwork created in Leira is a mural depicting freedom, resilience and faith – values that transcend the prison environment and serve as a message of hope and rehabilitation. The project, which unfolded in two distinct phases, involved around ten young people from the Leira institution who contributed to the creation of the final artwork by arranging shapes, mixing colours and exploring design on paper, whilst at the same time experimenting with creativity and dialogue. The result is a work that stands as the greatest outcome of unity, mutual support and sharing, as well as living proof that art can be a meeting point, an agent of transformation and a possible path towards rebuilding one’s life.
