Betar

Betar organized a Painting Exhibition for Young Artists and awarded the José Mendonça Prize – 1st Betar Plastic Arts Prize to five of the 15 artists in the competition. Between 5 and 21 July, 45 paintings were exhibited at the Grémio Literário in Lisbon, in a exhibition curated by architect Guilherme Godinho.

At the inauguration, Tiago Mendonça, Managing Partner of Betar, praised the work of the artists and explained the initiative: “Betar turns 50 years old and we thought that a good way to celebrate was to make this exhibition, because culture has always been part of the company’s DNA and bringing together painting and young artists made perfect sense”. The commissioner spoke about the competition: “This award was developed with the aim of seeing 15 artists with very different works, a very comprehensive range of contemporary art”.

On July 13, the five winners of the contest were announced. The jury composed by Tiago Mendonça, Armando Martins and Inês Mendes Leal had gathered to select the artists who would see one of their works being acquired by Betar and who could then proceed to an Artistic Residence at Quinta de São Lourenço, in the city of Guarda. Laura Caetano, Guilherme Figueiredo, Hermes, Ana Malta and Francisco Venâncio were the chosen ones. “This was a way we found to promote the arts. These artists need to exhibit, they need people to bet on them, to publicize their work, because they are starting, and we thought this contest was a good way to do it,” explained Tiago Mendonça.

Throughout the exhibition, several paintings were sold to visitors and, at the end of a lunch between partners and employees of Betar, two works were also drawn among those present. In the words of Guilherme Godinho, “one of the objectives of the 1st José Mendonça Prize was achieved: to emphasize the aesthetic, conceptual and technical diversity of the work of each of these artists. Works and artists were released, an exhibition, a catalogue and two Artes&Letras dedicated to the award were made. Now it’s time to prepare the residence in the Guarda and work more for a new exhibition”.