The EDP Foundation will acquire 22 artworks by 15 young Portuguese artists, as part of a special acquisitions fund amounting to 100 thousand euros.
Supporting and encouraging Portuguese artistic production is one of EDP Foundation’s priorities and main action areas, which is why it is launching this fund as a response to the severe impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the artistic community, and especially on young artists at the start of their careers.
This special acquisition fund has enabled the purchase of a significant set of artworks from artists who were born between 1986 and 1996, thus filling in or complementing representation gaps in the EDP Foundation Art Collection when it came to artists of this generation: Adriana Proganó, Alice dos Reis, AnaMary Bilbao, Andreia Santana, Carolina Pimenta, Eduardo Fonseca e Silva, Fernão Cruz, Gonçalo Preto, Henrique Pavão, Horácio Frutuoso, Igor Jesus, Maria Trabulo, Rita Ferreira, Sara Bichão and Tiago Madaleno.
These artists were selected by a committee made up of Miguel Coutinho, member of the board and general director of the EDP Foundation, José Manuel dos Santos, member of the board and cultural director of the EDP Foundation, and Inês Grosso, curator at maat.
“Our regular dialogue and collaboration with artists enable us to have a better perception and understanding of the extremely serious impact that the pandemic has had and is still having on their lives, and especially on the lives of young artists at the start of their careers. In light of this reality, we have launched this fund as a way to show our support and admiration for the resilience of the Portuguese artistic community, which has been profoundly affected by the pandemic,” explains Miguel Coutinho.
As well as this fund, the EDP Foundation intends to acquire artworks also amounting to 100 thousand euros throughout 2021. In 2020, the EDP Foundation Art Collection was made richer by five new artworks purchased from the duo João Pedro Vale/Nuno Alexandre Ferreira, Welket Bungué, Gabriel Abrantes and Manuel João Vieira.
The EDP Foundation Art Collection was created in 2000 with the aim of spanning several generations of Portuguese contemporary artists, as well as various artistic areas and categories. Its chronological reference point begins in the 1960s. It currently includes over 2 450 works by over 295 artists.
