Everything we want for women artists in Portugal
A presentation written by the Portugal's Minister of Culture, Graça Fonseca, about the exhibition “All I want – Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020”.
By Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Text: Graça Fonseca, Minister of Culture
I get offended when they tell me that my painting is the same as his, especially because he’s a big name. That was one of the things that made me stop. There was always someone saying: “Your painting is the same as Almada’s”. And it wasn’t the same at all. Tell me — is this painting the same as his?!
Sarah Affonso (1899-1983).
Ancestral structures allow us to distinguish macho from man. “Macho” attitudes engender slavery. Women attempt to break free. The women who have fought most for scrutiny of the female condition truly defended their freedom. Not freedom from men. Their freedom from despotic “machismo” would be incomplete without an understanding of creative complementarity, reducing it to mere slavery.
Salette Tavares (1922-1994).
I feel great at being the only woman! I can stand my own against men. Because there was an exhibition of mine at the Buchholz Gallery where a colleague came in and said: “That’s manly!” [laughs] I said: “What?” I had an argument with him! “That’s manly? That’s manly?” When they choose me to be among men, I feel honoured. I am worth the same as a man.
Helena Almeida (1934-2018).
Sarah Affonso, Salette Tavares and Helena Almeida, as well as Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-1992), Ana Hatherly (1929-2015) and Paula Rego (1935), among others, are examples of some of the women who achieved an exceptional degree of renown during their time, putting them on a par with other world-class professional artists. Today, they form part of the exhibition “All I want — Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020”.
These women’s work and careers are no longer invisible. Yet there is still a great deal to be done to bring the talent and ingenuity of many of these women artists out of the shadows in a structured, lasting manner.
With this in mind, we tasked Helena de Freitas with putting together an exhibition of women artists in Portugal as part of the programme for the Portuguese presidency of the European Union, which will be held first at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon, and later, in 2022, at the Centre of Contemporary Creation Olivier Debré in Tours to mark the France-Portugal Season.
Drawing on our invaluable partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and strategic collaboration from Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda [the Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office], the Ministry of Culture aims to leave with this project a permanent legacy on the Portuguese presidency, the France-Portugal Season, and also well beyond 2021.
This legacy is embodied by the exhibition, which draws together Portuguese art from the last 120 years under the curatorship of Helena de Freitas and Bruno Marchand, demonstrating the creativity of Portuguese women and showcasing Portugal’s artistic identity and recent history through the eyes of women artists.
The exhibition speaks to both international and domestic audiences. It is important that these women’s creative careers are also promoted in Portugal and that modern achievements are upheld over time. The legacy of these women gives rise to new inspiration and new careers, allowing contemporary and future generations of young artists, both women and men, to draw inspiration from the example they have set. The future will reveal the extent of our achievements, which, rather than being remembered, must be constantly renewed and experienced.
This cultural project makes an important, ambitious contribution to deepening the European project and the values that are intrinsic to it, helping to reaffirm an ever stronger, more cohesive, more inclusive cultural identity.
The exhibition All I want: Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020, in its first moment at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, is part of the cultural program that takes place in parallel to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2021.
Exhibition organized by the Portuguese Ministry of Culture, Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in co-production with the Center of Contemporary Creation Olivier Debré, Tours, and with the collaboration of the Plano Nacional das Artes (Portugal).
Text:
Graça Fonseca, Portuguese Minister of Culture
Get to know the curator's text that introduces the exhibition's virtual tour:
All I want – Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020
Curatorship:
Helena de Freitas and Bruno Marchand
