The Vasco Vieira de Almeida Foundation will inaugurate tomorrow, 27 May, at the VdA office, the contemporary art exhibition ‘True Colors’, a collective of female artists, featuring Ana Pérez-Quiroga, Carolina Caycedo, Claudia Andujar, Cristina Ataíde, Fernanda Fragateiro, Helena Almeida, Joana Vasconcelos, Mónica de Miranda, Sara and André, and Teresa Lanceta.

The exhibition, curated by Verónica de Mello, includes works that seek to pay tribute to great women or understand the place of women in different cultural, social and geographical contexts, in an exhibition inspired by Cindy Lauper's 1980s song, a powerful anthem of self-acceptance, vulnerability and inner strength.

By exploring the metaphor of ‘true colours’, the song suggests the need to reveal an individual's essence, removing social impositions or limitations. ‘Being who we really are’ is one of the possible translations of the idiomatic phrase that contains the title of this popular ballad. The metaphor of ‘colours’ also has a relevant aesthetic implication, as it refers to the use of colours as a symbolic language. Colour as a representation not only of emotions, but also of aspects of identity and personal experience. The diversity of shades present in the exhibition's colour palette evokes the multiplicity of experiences, emotions and subjectivities, a reflection of the diversity that marks the human condition.

The exhibition is part of the official programme of ARCO’25.