The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Filipe Zau, laid the first stone of the rehabilitation and reconversion project of the old parliament building, which will be carried out by the company Athena Swiss, from the Israeli Mitrelli group.
In his speech, Filipe Zau said that with the future institution space will be opened "for the emergence of creative genius, within Angolan intellectuals in the area of culture and arts", which from now on will gain greater space for dignification of their respective productions.
The government official also highlighted the training and social support component that the space will provide, stressing that "there is no education without culture, therefore, it makes no sense to have culture without education".
"The Executive hopes, with this and other future initiatives in favor of artistic activity in our country, to be able to raise the feeling of low self-esteem that for many years, for cyclical reasons, was instilled in our cultural workers", said the minister .
The project envisages the reformulation of the initial concept of the Palácio da Música e do Teatro project, to accommodate a residential and care unit for senior artists, inspired by the Casa do Artista in Lisbon.
The intervention covers a total area of 12,752 square meters, occupied by several buildings, including the central building, where the former National Assembly was located, which until 1975 housed the Cinema-Teatro Restauração.
Speaking to the press, the project director of the Mitrelli group, Hermenegildo Campos, said that the main room will have a capacity for more than 600 seats, plus two support rooms for shows and exhibitions.
Hermenegildo Campos said that there are areas to be preserved and others that will be demolished, such as annexes built at the time of the National Assembly, in addition to new construction, such as basements and floors.
