Anna Nunes (1993), born in Portugal and currently based in the Netherlands, is an emerging contemporary artist and researcher. She graduated as an ecologist and was awarded in 2018 by the Faculty of Resource Ecology at Wageningen University for her field research in the Boé-region in Guinea-Bissau, where she investigated the biodiversity in sacred forests protected by spiritual beliefs and traditional practices of the Fulani people who inhabite the surrounding area. 

The Sacred forest project resulted in various series of expressionist oil paintings portraying the women, from the African communities that hosted her, in daily life scenery.

Nunes composes her paintings across multiple planes using wide shapes and sometimes bold colours that are reminiscent of Gauguin. She typically uses a focal point such as clapping hands or an expressive gaze to pull her observation into focus and guide the viewer through the scene. 

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That results in portraits of strong women, marked by life, though firmly grounded with a sense of resilience and determination, somehow reminding of The Potato Eaters of Van Gogh, albeit leaving the despair behind. Portraits that transcend personal appearance and capture the naked being, the sense of community, of mutual respect for one another, of collective wisdom and values, expressing the very personal connection Nunes experienced. 

Her art triggers curiosity about the hidden stories, raises questions what other communities could offer us in our search for a more connected and balanced way of living, with each other and with the world around us.

Her latest residential project "O Mundo Imaginário" (The imaginary realm) in Sao Tomé, is supported by a grant from the Dutch Foundation for Cultural Participation and the local organization Surfers Proud of African Women (SOMA), which promotes gender equality on the island. In this project Nunes examines and challenges the local gender disparities ingrained by an historical context of Dutch and Portuguese colonial rule and slavery.  Noting that till today this legacy still manifests itself in violence and polarization through the authority granted to men, Nunes goes back to the core. She hits on the early shaping of values in the pre-formative phase of boys and girls, and composes an  alternative future vision.  

As part of the project, Nunes facilitates an artistic workshop where local artist Derley Camblé and the little boys from the Santana village share their creativity and knowledge of traditional games to help the girls in creating their own Tabua boards, help them in leaving their domestic chorus to play together in the sea. 

By creating space for mixed-gender playing and learning, Nunes embraces the unifying power of games, using children's playful creativity to make a socio-political statement and inspire an experience-based genuine change. 

Nunes' series of oil paintings “The coloniality of gender”, created in the "O Mundo Imaginário" project, show dreamlike, fragile visions of nude girls in typical boys activities, seemingly in their element. Minimalistic, almost sketchy, monochromatic images that surface on large natural linen formats, as if  appearing from a foggy future. The subdued, simple compositions with the monochromatic fragile nude girls and the non-primed canvas lend an almost esoteric, pure dimension to her visions.

Anna Nunes has participated in various solo and group exhibitions in the Netherlands and Belgium. Her latest series are exhibited both at the Limburg Biennale (Netherlands) and the X Biennial of Art and Culture of São Tomé and Príncipe, À (re)Descoberta de NÓS, São Tomé and Príncipe, West-Africa.