Helena Amaral’s Sorrisos de Pedra project, promoted by the MiratecArts association, is marking its tenth anniversary this April.

The Smiles Route, with over 250 sculptures circling the island of Pico, is coveted by both thousands of visitors and locals alike. A traveling exhibition of sculptures by Helena Amaral and photography by Pedro Silva has already toured all the islands of the Central Group and Western Group of the Azores. Visits by the artists, with presentations in various locations, are also part of this project’s decade-long journey. It marked Smile Day, April 28, with a presence in Amsterdam, the most liberal city in the world.

“The Smiles are an adventure of emotions and conquests of other places,” admits the artist. “To smile is to expand joys, with the empathy of those who admire and even identify with them.”

Considered by Expresso’s “Portugal Autêntico” as the best art walk on the islands and one of the “best art experiences in the Azores” by Lonely Planet Pocket Azores, the project has a presence in more than a dozen countries, with fans acquiring sculptures and placing them in their private gardens.

Also, to mark the tenth anniversary, sculptures will be placed in the parish of Prainha, thus adding new works to the Pico Island Route.

From MiratecArts Press Release.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publications at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for their support.