Women have been active participants in the diverse professional practices of architecture throughout the ages. But this participation is revealed neither in the historical production nor in the real and symbolic image of the profession. Several mechanisms have contributed to their invisibility and marginalization. Retrieving stories and making biographies visible is a matter of historical justice. If, on the one hand, one of the areas of action of the Women in Architecture association is the promotion of equity and representativeness – of gender and others – in the professions linked to space production, on the other hand, the research project W@ARCH.PT has researched and studied the histories and contributions of women linked to architecture and women architects in Portugal, between 1942 and 1986. The common objective is the dissemination of biographies of these women as a way to expand both the history of architecture in Portugal and the diversity of professional practices in this area. A quick search demonstrates the general lack of Portuguese architects of the Wikipedia. Aware of the importance of existing in this global virtual encyclopedia, often the first source of information, we promoted the collective creation of entries about them, which were and are part of these disciplinary areas.
It was with immense taste and sense of responsibility that we inaugurated the Wiki Editoras Lx group’s curatorial sessions (bi-monthly collaboration). The theme was “Women Architects in Portugal”. The curatorship was in charge of the architects Ana Bragança, Lia Antunes and Patrícia Santos Pedrosa, associated with the research project W@ARCH.PT: Women Architects in Portugal: building visibility, 1942-1986 (CIEG – ISCSP-ULisbon) and the MA – Mulheres na Arquitectura association (Women in Architecture association).
This moment of collaboration resulted in the creation of Wikipedia entries of the women architects Maria José Estanco, Olga Quintanilha, Ana Tostões and Inês Lobo and the landscape architect Teresa Andresen.
It was an exciting event, with many new participations and collective creations.