All I Want: The stories behind Portuguese female artists

What’s the place of female artists? How much of their art is known, spoken or internationally recognized? There is still a long way to go to achieve gender equality, but making sure we open space to talk about the ones who already broke barriers is definitely the first step. "All I Want: Portuguese women artists from 1900 to 2020" is a feminist exhibit and a space of dialogue and affirmation. Even more, it is a collection to show the historical and artistic relevance of Portuguese female artists -- and certainly an exhibit that we want everyone to have access to, even amid travel restrictions. That’s why we’re excited to have partnered with Google Arts & Culture to bring this exhibit to the world.

More than 240 artworks by 40 Portuguese artists, from 1900 to 2020, come together in a large exhibit that we are making available to an international audience thanks to technology. Artists like Aurélia de Sousa, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Rosa Ramalho or Sarah Affonso gain life through 14 different stories transposing the physical exhibit and 40 stories telling the biographies of each selected artist. 

All I Want questions where women are in art today, and reinforces the need to celebrate women artists from history. The exhibit highlights artists that deserve recognition, putting forgotten women back in the frame and exploring concepts, styles, colors, feminism and how the artists reflect their individuality. 

• Self-portrait of artist Aurélia de Sousa

  Understand Aurélia de Sousa and her work as awoman at the turn of the 20th century.

• A work of art by Helena Almeida, featuring a black-and-white portrait of a woman with her mouth open. The inside of the mouth is painted blue.

  The work of Helena Almeida essentially deconstructs the two-dimensional nature of painting.

• An exhibit featuring white fabric hanging from the ceiling with chairs and other furniture painted on it in blue.

  Learn about the symbolic relationship between women and their living space.

• An abstract painting featuring blue, pink, orange and green colors.

  Explore important artworks from a new perspective with augmented reality.

The stories are divided into topics that will take people through a journey that spans from understanding generations to considering the place of women in art history, as well as discussions about the body and literary production. The curators, Helena de Freitas and Bruno Marchand, worked to make sure this exhibit would not only fill a gap in the art world, but also explain why this disparity started in the first place.

All I Want is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, presented on the occasion of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2021. After its period in Portugal, the physical exhibit will travel to France, but on Google Arts & Culture this project will be preserved and able to reach every corner. In my ideal world, every female artist would have  recognition and space for their art. For now, I am happy we are starting with these exceptional Portuguese women artists and I hope this inspires other institutions in the world.

by Isabel Mota via The Keyword