Graça Morais is the winner of the 8th edition of the Vasco Graça Moura Prize – Cultural Citizenship

Established by Estoril Sol, the Vasco Graça Moura Prize – Cultural Citizenship, in its eighth edition, was awarded to the painter Graça Morais. With more than 50 years of artistic life, Graça Morais has a unique path of cultural citizenship, being considered one of the great references in the history of European contemporary art.

The Jury, chaired by Guilherme d`Oliveira Martins, elected Graça Morais, taking into account “her cultural, artistic and civic career. Since her youth, the artist has had a permanent active participation in the defense of humanism, respect for human dignity, and human rights. A very strong connection to the land and popular traditions and permanent attention to the hardship of life and compassion have characterized a remarkable coherence in her work”.

“In fact, for Graça Morais, cultural citizenship is something natural and necessary. Her artistic talent and the choice of themes for her works, in close intimate connection, always have an underlying concern for others and care for the most vulnerable. The artist and the citizen are always present, which constitutes a singular example in the contemporary artistic panorama, deserving of special recognition”, underlined the jury.

Maria da Graça Pinto de Almeida Morais was born on March 17, 1948, in Vieiro, a village near Freixiel, in the municipality of Vila Flor, in Trás-os-Montes. She lived in Mozambique between 1957 and 1958, returning to Vieiro the following year. In 1966, she entered the Escola Superior de Belas Artes do Porto to study painting, having completed the course in 1971 and presented the 5th year evaluation exhibition at the Escola Superior de Belas Artes do Porto. In 1974, she exhibited for the first time, at the Alberto Sampaio Museum, in Guimarães.

She completed a painting degree at the Porto Superior School of Fine Arts (ESBAP) in 1971 and, between 1976 and 1979, lived in Paris, with a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, being a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts and of several associations, confraternities and cultural foundations.

Graça Morais, since 1974, has held and participated in more than a hundred individual and group exhibitions, in Portugal and abroad. In 2008, the Graça Morais Contemporary Art Center (CACGM) was inaugurated in Bragança. The building was designed by architect Souto Moura and has hosted several exhibitions by the artist. Ten years later, the Mountain Arts Laboratory – Graça Morais (LAM-GM) was created to promote new opportunities for teaching and research activities.

Throughout his career, his work won numerous awards and distinctions, having been awarded the Grade of Grand Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique, awarded by the President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio, in 1997. And, in March 2019, his contribution to the arts was recognized with the Medal of Cultural Merit, which he received from the Minister of Culture, Graça Fonseca.

He is a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts and of various associations, confraternities, and cultural foundations.

Established by Estoril Sol, the Prize, held annually and with a pecuniary value of 20 thousand euros, was created in honor of the memory of Vasco Graça Moura. Remember that in previous editions, Eduardo Lourenço, José Carlos Vasconcelos, Vitor Aguiar e Silva, Maria do Céu Guerra, Carlos do Carmo, Emílio Rui Vilar, and Zeferino Coelho was distinguished.

The Jury that awarded the Prize, chaired by Guilherme D`Oliveira Martins, was made up of Maria Carlos Gil Loureiro, José Manuel Mendes, Manuel Frias Martins, Liberto Cruz, José Carlos de Vasconcelos, Ana Paula Laborinho, and also by Dinis de Abreu, at the invitation of Estoril Sol.

It should also be noted that under the terms of the Regulation, the Vasco Graça Moura Prize “aims to distinguish a writer, essayist, poet, journalist, translator or cultural producer who, throughout his career – or through an innovative and exceptionally important intervention -, has contributed to dignify and project the sector to which it belongs in the public space”.

The award ceremony will be announced in due course.

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