What Are Things For?
PARA QUE SERVEM AS COISAS?
Theatre 13€
Tuesday 29 September · until 31 Dec
Get ticketsAt MUDE, this long-term exhibition revisits the history of design and presents Portuguese design in context and as a design process, asking how and why products are designed, communicated, perceived and consumed.
Synopsis Due to maintenance work in the museum space, online sales are suspended from 7 July 2026 to 19 July 2026. However, tickets can be purchased at the on-site box office. The exhibition “What Are Things For?” aims to reread the history of design and present Portuguese design in context and as a design process. More than showing the design icons in the MUDE collection, it seeks to question how and why products are designed, communicated, perceived and consumed. The chronological organisation allows visitors to go back to the dawn of the 20th century and establish open dialogues between the design pieces and the documentation, highlighting the issues common to different eras and inviting debate on past practices and their projection into the future of each period. The exhibition design poses a new challenge to museography by prioritising the reuse of various materials from the MUDE building works that, having no use, would otherwise go to waste. This curatorial decision minimises waste and the amount of refuse, investing in the idea of promoting a circular economy, making the exhibition solution a real manifestation of the museum’s intention to debate today’s consumer society and the need to implement the values of economic degrowth. Opening Hours Summer hours: (April to September) Tuesday to Thursday: 10h - 19h Friday and Saturday: 10h - 21h Sunday: 10h-19h Winter hours: (October to March) Tuesday to Thursday: 10h-18h Friday and Saturday: 10h-20h Sunday: 10h-18h The museum is closed on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January. On 24 and 31 December, the museum closes at 16h. Last entry at 15h30. Prices Long-Term Exhibition - What Are Things For? | 13€ DISCOUNTS Young students (13-25 years old), seniors