In the faculty of fine arts of Lisbon there are very few african or afrodescendent students. Yet, the majority of the cleaning ladies are African. They are a constant presence in its corridors, interacting with students, the artistic projects, the teachers, and the space itself, perhaps even knowing it in its widest form. Such a presence leads us to question two things: one refers to the nature of their own universe: where they came from, what journey they made, what’s their language, whichs tradition they bring with them. The second is a social question that from here unleashes: to what extent is there free access to artistic education? Due to the lack of guarantees in the future, the financial and cultural limitations of certain families, there may be an elitism in the accesses to the artistic areas, leading minorities and disadvantaged groups to other types of professions.

Therefore the universe of the cleaning ladies of the faculty will be starting point for the development of a pictorial composition, evoking them, in this way, to the painting.

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The works were part of the exhibition SGPCM-FBAUL in 2019 and were selected for the 1st prize. They are now part of the permanent collection of the General Secretariat of The Portuguese Council of Ministers