Appleton was born in 2007 and is a place for experimentation and learning, equipped to receive, promote and present the most diverse expressions of contemporary art. With the legacy of eleven years of Appleton Square, it occupies, since September 2018, a clearly complementary position to commercial galleries and other institutions, as an independent, non-profit space, and intends to continue contributing to the production, contemplation and promotion of the ideas and practice of contemporary art.

Its programming, which covers artistic areas as diverse as the plastic arts, video art, performance, dance, cinema, theatre and music, is divided between SQUARE, associated to the spatiality of the white cube of its room on level 0, BOX, with a more experimental character, which mostly takes place in the room on level -1, and GARAGEM, a program designed by the musicians Manuel Mota and David Maranha, admittedly nomadic, which is dedicated exclusively to the presentation of projects connected to music and sound art. In 2020 the Appleton podcast is launched, a program of talks directed by Vera Appleton and which intends to “give voice” to all kinds of agents of the Portuguese art system In the same year, in the midst of the pandemic, the Sandbox educational service was created, currently coordinated by Marília Marques, who works actively not only in the pedagogy associated with the experience in the exhibition space, with families or students, but also in the relationship established with colleges, schools and universities. From 2022 onwards, it will start receiving artists in a creative residency format, who will have a longer period of time dedicated to production and assembly in the space.

As a non-profit entity, Appleton remains directed towards private support that ensures its sustainability, assuming that public support is primarily aimed at supporting the artists, the teams, and finally the production and materialization of the works of art that are presented there.

Since 2020, it has had the support of Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, and between 2021 and 2022 and now 2024, the support of DGArtes. Since 2022 Appleton is part of RPAC – Rede Portuguesa de Arte Contemporânea accredited by the Cultural Ministry and the Portugal Government.

Image Credit: Pedro Tropa