Between 5 and 7 June, the United States Embassy is celebrating the anniversary of the Art in Embassies Office, a programme fostering diplomacy through the visual arts, promoting the presentation of works by American artists at exhibitions held in US diplomatic facilities all around the world.

Based on an idea by MoMA, in 1953, this programme was formalised by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and has now been in existence, promoting US culture, history and values, for six decades. The programme currently involves more than 20,000 participants, including artists, museums, galleries, universities and collectors, and is active in 189 countries, holding more than 60 exhibitions per year.

The celebrations in Lisbon include various discussion panels on the role of the visual arts in the promotion of diplomacy. On 6 June, the EDP Foundation is presenting two discussion panels on creating audiences and sustainability in the arts; on the 7th, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation will host two conversations on the identity and narrative of artists and on inclusivity. Various Portuguese and American artists will take part in all the sessions.

This programme also includes a travelling exhibition entitled Democracy Collection: Advocacy Through Art, which looks at the promotion of democracy around the world and is open to the public between 6 June and 11 July in the Amelia de Melo Art Gallery, at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.