The Caixa Competition for Young Artists (2022)

Spanning the period from 1983 to the present day, Stories of the Collection summarises key moments in the formation of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) Collection. Across distinct points and through the presentation of its most important acquisitions, we follow the desires, tastes, policies and circumstances of each specific moment of the collection’s development: The Decorative Collection (1983-89); The Art Collection (1990-97); Diversification (2000-04); Photographs (1991 and 2004); Precision (2004-08 and 2014); Prints (2007); Donations and Bequests (1967-2021); Resuming Acquisitions (2020-21); New Acquisitions: renowned artists (2022 and 2023); New Acquisitions: mid-career artists (2022 and 2023); Caixa Contest for Young Artists (2022 and 2023).

The Caixa Competition for Young Artists is an acquisition contest which forms part of a series of initiatives that Caixa Geral de Depósitos develops in the field of culture. It is designed to recognise and stimulate visual arts production among young artists. In its first edition in 2022, works of various media were acquired from six candidates aged between 25 and 35, works which became part of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos Collection managed by Culturgest.

Applicants had to be: born between 1 January 1987 and 31 December 1997; Portuguese by nationality; to have participated in two or more exhibitions; and to have two or more critical texts previously published about their work. A maximum of 10 works could be submitted, without restrictions as to techniques, dimensions or materials. The Culturgest Visual Arts Programmer, Bruno Marchand, pre-selected up to a maximum of 30 applications to be submitted to the Acquisitions Committee.

The six winning artists from whom works were acquired are: Adriana Proganó (Lucerne, Switzerland, 1992); Dayana Lucas (Caracas, Venezuela, 1987); Fernão Cruz (Lisbon, Portugal, 1995); Igor Jesus (Lisbon, Portugal, 1989); João Gabriel (Leiria, Portugal, 1992); and Sara Mealha (Leiria, Portugal, 1992).