Today we’re speaking with Astrid Sauer, Founder & CEO of SOTA – State of the Art and co-founder of WAF - Women in Art Fellowship. The Women in Art Fellowship was launched in Portugal in 2025 with a very clear ambition: to strengthen the presence, visibility and recognition of women in the arts. But what makes the initiative particularly interesting is that it goes beyond financial support. The programme combines funding with mentorship, professional development, networking, communication and exhibition opportunities – addressing not only the question of how women create art, but also how they build sustainable careers, gain visibility and become part of the professional art ecosystem. The first edition attracted 284 applications, and WAF has now launched its second edition.
Where did the idea for the Women in Art Fellowship come from? Was there a particular moment or observation that made you realise that a programme specifically supporting women artists was needed in Portugal?
There was actually a very concrete starting point. The original idea came from Catarina Tomaz, from VIA Outlets Portugal. International Women’s Day was one of the moments identified in VIA Outlets’ sustainability calendar, but Catarina felt very strongly that it should not be treated as a commercial occasion or reduced to symbolic gestures such as giving out flowers or chocolates. As VIA Outlets was already committed to investing in art and culture, she approached Filipa and me with the idea of creating a fellowship specifically for women artists. That initial idea immediately resonated with us. As we began developing the concept and researching the subject more deeply, it became increasingly clear that there is no shortage of extraordinarily talented women artists, but that talent and even visibility do not necessarily translate into the same opportunities, market recognition or long-term professional value. The data reinforced that perception. Women have made important progress in terms of representation, particularly in the primary art market, but significant inequalities remain, especially when we look at value, resale and the secondary market. So the question became much broader than simply how to help more women create or exhibit their work: how could we contribute to building sustainable careers and greater recognition and value over time? That is when the initial idea began to evolve beyond a traditional art prize. Together, VIA Outlets Portugal, Portugal Manual and SOTA developed WAF as a programme combining substantial financial support with mentorship, masterclasses, professional development, networking, communication and exhibition opportunities. Each partner brings something different to the Fellowship. VIA Outlets provides the financial support that makes the programme possible, while Filipa, through Portugal Manual, brings a strong network of artists and leads WAF’s social media communication, helping to give both the artists and the programme continuous visibility. Through SOTA and my role as CEO, I have been able to activate a broad network across both the cultural and private sectors to build WAF’s institutional profile, expand its reach and, above all, create concrete opportunities for the artists — connecting the Fellowship with museums, cultural institutions, curators, artists, journalists, collectors, brands and companies. This has included inviting Joana Vasconcelos to become WAF’s Ambassador, bringing the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes on board as our institutional partner, and developing the mentorships, strategic introductions and professional relationships that have become such an important part of what WAF offers its artists. So WAF began with a very simple but important question from Catarina: how can we mark International Women’s Day in a way that creates real and lasting impact? What has grown from that initial idea is a programme designed not to last for one day, but to create opportunities, relationships and visibility that can accompany women artists much further in their careers.
What is the main goal of WAF for you personally? Is it primarily about visibility, financial support, professional development – or is there a larger structural change that you hope the programme can contribute to?
For me, the larger ambition is structural: to help women artists build careers that are not only visible, but sustainable and properly valued over time. An artist needs resources to produce work, but she also needs credibility, access and relationships. This is where I felt I could make a very specific contribution. I invited Joana Vasconcelos to become WAF’s Ambassador and brought the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes on board as our institutional partner. Both immediately embraced the project. For the winning artist, this creates a powerful context: dialogue with one of Portugal’s most internationally recognised artists and the opportunity to present her work within one of the country’s most established artistic institutions. The networks behind WAF are also important. Through Portugal Manual, Filipa brings a strong network of artists. Through my work as CEO of SOTA, I have developed relationships across a broader cultural and corporate ecosystem - with museum directors, cultural institutions, curators, artists, journalists, collectors, brands and companies. I have been able to activate that network particularly through institutional partnerships, mentorships, strategic introductions and access to people and organisations that can potentially influence an artist’s professional trajectory. With Beatriz Narciso, our first winner, I personally organised individual mentorships and conversations with museum directors such as Nuria Enguita, Filipa Oliveira and João Pinharanda; curators such as Emilia Ferreira and Rita Lougares; and cultural journalist Alexandra Carita. I have also taken Beatriz to exhibition openings and introduced her to artists, curators, collectors and other cultural figures. Filipa has also helped amplify Beatriz’s work through Portugal Manual and social media. So, for me, WAF is about combining funding with credibility, access, knowledge and sustained visibility. This is also why we have doubled the number of finalists from 10 to 20 in the second edition: we want more women to benefit from the programme, even though ultimately there is one Fellowship winner.
When you look at the Portuguese art scene today, where do you think women artists still face the biggest obstacles? Is the main challenge access to galleries and institutions, visibility, the market, funding, professional networks – or something else?
I think the challenge is less one single barrier than the cumulative effect of several of them. Portugal has many excellent women artists, and women are highly present in artistic education and increasingly visible in exhibitions. But that does not automatically translate into equal representation where careers acquire long-term value: gallery representation, institutional recognition, collecting, the secondary market and international circulation. There is also a gap that deserves more attention between artistic education and the realities of building a professional career as an artist. Universities and art schools understandably focus on artistic practice, critical thinking and technical skills, but many artists leave their studies insufficiently prepared for the professional side of the art world. How do you approach a curator or gallery? How do you communicate your work? How do you build relationships with collectors and institutions? And how do you create a financially sustainable career without compromising your artistic practice? Artists are, to some extent, entrepreneurs of their own careers. Being a strong artist and knowing how to navigate the professional art ecosystem are different skill sets, and ideally artists need both. This is one of the gaps WAF tries to address through masterclasses, mentorships and professional encounters. But access only becomes meaningful when the artist takes ownership of it. If someone introduces you to a museum director or curator, maintain that relationship. Ask for advice. Invite them to your next exhibition. Go to openings, meet new people, follow up, be proactive and accept that sometimes the answer will be no. WAF can open doors and show artists how the ecosystem works, but ultimately they have to walk through those doors themselves. So the question is not only whether women are present in the art world, but whether they have the tools, networks and opportunities to turn that presence into sustainable careers - and whether their work is collected, promoted and valued over time on equal terms.
WAF is interesting because it doesn’t simply give an artist a prize. It creates an ecosystem around her – mentorship, masterclasses, networking, production support and an exhibition. Why was it important to build the Fellowship in this way?
Because financial support can create an opportunity, but a professional ecosystem can change a trajectory. The Fellowship gives the winner meaningful resources and time to develop her practice, but we deliberately designed WAF so that the programme itself has value for all the finalists. Masterclasses, mentoring, professional encounters, communication and exhibition experience address aspects of an artistic career that are often difficult to acquire from inside the studio. For me, this is where WAF complements artistic education: it helps artists think about how to present and position their work, understand the market, communicate their practice and navigate professional relationships without compromising their artistic integrity. The objective is not to turn artists into businesspeople, but to give them practical tools to sustain a career around their artistic practice.
The first edition received more than 200 applications. Did the scale of the response surprise you? And what did those applications tell you about the current generation of women artists working in Portugal?
We received 210 applications in the first edition, which was extraordinary for a new initiative. The scale of the response exceeded our expectations, but even more impressive was the diversity and quality of the practices we encountered. It confirmed that there is an enormous amount of female artistic talent working in Portugal, across generations, disciplines and very different professional stages. It also demonstrated a real appetite for a programme that combines financial support with professional development and visibility. What stayed with me most was the ambition in many of the applications. These were artists with serious practices and strong ideas who were looking for the conditions that would allow them to take the next step. That reinforced our conviction that WAF should continue and grow.
Beatriz Narciso became the winner of the first Women in Art Fellowship. Looking back at her journey through the programme, what has been the most meaningful transformation for you to witness?
For me, the most rewarding part has been seeing WAF translate into very tangible changes in Beatriz’s professional trajectory. The visibility was built progressively. She was announced as the first WAF winner on 15 October 2025, generating significant media attention, and in November her work was shown alongside the other nine finalists at the WAF Finalists Exhibition at Vila do Conde Porto Fashion Outlet. The journey then culminated in her solo exhibition, Sótão, at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes, where she developed and presented a new body of work within one of Portugal’s most established artistic institutions. These were not isolated moments; each stage built on the previous one and created sustained visibility. We can now see that visibility translating into concrete professional outcomes. Beatriz has been invited to present a new collection at Galeria Liminare and has confirmed her participation in the Bienal de Arte Contemporânea das Terras de Trás-os-Montes, alongside other collective exhibitions, talks and cultural initiatives. Galleries and art professionals have also approached her about presenting and selling her work - something she says had not happened before WAF. The impact is also commercial. Beatriz tells us that she has sold more works since being announced as the WAF winner than before. A feature in Versa led directly to the sale of a newly completed work, and one of my favourite stories is of a gentleman in his eighties who contacted her after learning about the SNBA exhibition, visited her studio and bought a work that was not even finished yet. The financial support has allowed her to produce work on a scale that would previously have been difficult, create a professional website and strengthen the way she positions and communicates her work. In Beatriz’s own assessment, the Fellowship has improved the financial sustainability and profitability of her career. There is also a less measurable transformation: access, confidence and the ability to build a professional network. I have organised mentorships, talks and interviews, introduced Beatriz to key figures in the Portuguese art ecosystem and taken her with me to exhibition openings and cultural events. At the same time, Filipa has helped amplify Beatriz’s work through Portugal Manual and social media, helping sustain the visibility generated by the programme. The intention is not to give an artist one temporary moment in the spotlight. It is to create a starting point from which she can build her own relationships, public profile and opportunities. What I find most meaningful is seeing the chain reaction begin to work: an exhibition creates visibility; visibility can generate media attention; an article can lead to a collector; an introduction can lead to another opportunity; and a sale can create resources for new work. That virtuous cycle is ultimately the transformation we wanted WAF to enable.
How do you define success for a project like WAF? Is it an exhibition, a gallery representation, sales, international recognition – or perhaps simply giving an artist the confidence and professional tools to continue?
I would not define success through one outcome, because artistic careers are not linear. Gallery representation may be transformative for one artist; an institutional exhibition, a residency, a collector relationship or international exposure may matter more for another. For WAF, success means that an artist leaves the programme with more possibilities than she had when she entered it - stronger professional tools, meaningful relationships, greater visibility and the confidence to use them. It also means that the network continues to generate opportunities after the formal programme ends. At the structural level, the ambition is broader: women artists should not only be represented more equally, but also collected, commissioned, exhibited and valued more equally over the long term. WAF cannot achieve that alone, but it can help move the ecosystem in that direction.
You have just launched the second edition of WAF. What did you learn from the first year, and what would you like to develop further?
The first edition confirmed that WAF’s strength lies in bringing together partners with different roles and giving artists a combination of financial, institutional, professional and communication support. One of the clearest decisions for the second edition was to broaden that impact. We have doubled the number of finalists from 10 to 20, which means that more artists can benefit from the programme, its visibility and its network even though there is ultimately one Fellowship winner. We also want to deepen the mentoring and professional-development component, create more connections between the finalists and the wider art ecosystem, and communicate their work throughout the programme rather than concentrating attention only around the winner. The second edition is about consolidating what worked while increasing the value of participation for every finalist.
If we look five years ahead, what would you love Women in Art Fellowship to become? Could it grow beyond Portugal, involve institutions and collectors internationally, or perhaps become a wider network for women working in the arts?
In five years, I would love WAF to be recognised as a platform that women artists genuinely want to be part of because participation creates meaningful opportunities, regardless of who ultimately receives the Fellowship. In Portugal, I would like to see a strong alumni network and an increasingly engaged ecosystem of collectors, galleries, museums, curators, cultural institutions, media and private companies around the artists. The private sector is fundamental: initiatives like WAF need companies willing to invest financially in culture and understand that supporting women artists can create genuine and lasting impact. But my ambition for WAF is definitely international. I would like to establish the model in other countries - potentially in markets where VIA Outlets already has a presence, but also beyond those geographies through new local partnerships. I have already started taking the first steps in that direction and am currently establishing initial contacts in Dubai to explore the possibility of bringing WAF there. What excites me is not simply replicating the Portuguese model elsewhere. Each edition should be rooted in its own cultural ecosystem, working with local artists, institutions, mentors and partners while remaining connected to the values and wider network of WAF. An important part of that vision is cultural exchange. I would love WAF to create opportunities for Portuguese artists to gain visibility, build relationships and potentially exhibit abroad, while introducing artists from other WAF markets to the Portuguese art ecosystem. Ultimately, I would love to see WAF Portugal, WAF Dubai and future editions become part of one interconnected international network - creating cross-border access to curators, institutions, residencies, exhibitions and new audiences. The ambition is not expansion for its own sake, but a credible international platform that connects art ecosystems and creates opportunities for women artists to move beyond their own markets and networks.
And finally, what does supporting women in art mean to you personally? You work at the intersection of culture, institutions and the private sector. Has creating WAF changed the way you think about your own role within the cultural ecosystem?
Creating WAF has made me think much more consciously about responsibility and access. At SOTA, we sit at the intersection of artists, cultural institutions, companies, media and audiences. That gives us the ability to connect worlds that do not always naturally meet. WAF has shown me how deliberately those relationships can be used — not simply to produce cultural projects, but to create opportunities and structures with longer-term impact. But gender equality is also something that is personally very important to me beyond the cultural sector. I am part of PWN Lisbon’s 50/50 Women on Boards initiative, and I believe strongly in contributing to greater gender equality wherever I can — whether that is in business, leadership, governance or the arts. For me, these are not separate conversations. They are all part of the same broader question of whether women have equal access to opportunities, networks, visibility and positions of influence. In the arts specifically, I believe talent should have the possibility to develop without gender determining how visible, collectable or valuable that talent ultimately becomes. At the same time, structural change cannot remain a conversation among women alone. It requires institutions, companies, collectors, gallies, artists and cultural professionals — women and men — to participate. WAF has therefore also made me more ambitious about what a cultural agency like SOTA can contribute. We can be more than a bridge between culture and brands; we can use our relationships and our position within the ecosystem to create opportunities and contribute to lasting cultural and social impact. This also gives the interview a stronger ending because it takes WAF back to your personal values and your broader role, rather than finishing by repeating the mechanics of the Fellowship.
