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U.Porto Memory

University of Porto Famous Alumni

Margarida Santos

Margarida Santos 1946- Sculptor and teacher

Margarida Santos was born in the parish of Canelas, Vila Nova de Gaia, on 27 November 1946.

In her youth, she studied at the Soares dos Reis School of Decorative Arts, moving then to the Porto School of Fine Arts.

During the Sculpture course, which she completed in 1968 with the final mark of 19 out of 20, she earned a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and received the "Ventura Terra Award".

After completing her degree, she managed her artistic production along with a teaching career, during which she attended and completed the course in Pedagogical Sciences at the University of Coimbra (1970). During her teaching practice, in 1972, she presented the thesis entitled "Creativity in Art Education", which received 18 out 20 marks and was published later. She directed instruction courses for teachers – she was Pedagogical Supervisor for the General Directorate for Basic Education and supervised the Pedagogical team of Visual Education - Teleschool, and was responsible for pedagogical and didactic films and slides.

Between 1972 and 1974, she received a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to develop the theme "Woman-Fertility", a repeated topic in her work. From 1973 on, she began to show her work in solo exhibitions of paintings, drawing and sculpture, in both Portugal and abroad.

Her work is part of private collections and public and private institutions, and she has received many awards and commendations, such as the Drawing Prize from the Spanish government, the "Special Jury Award", in Puy-en-Velay, France, and the Gold Medal for Cultural and Scientific Merit, from Vila Nova de Gaia City Council (2002).

Among her modern sculptures, usually made in bronze and representing busts, portraits, reliefs, trophies and medals, reference must be made to the "Bust of Dr. Aristides de Sousa Mendes" (Bordeaux, France), unveiled in 1994 by Mário Soares, the "Monument to the Mason", in Canelas, the sculpture for the garden near the Municipal Library of Vila Nova de Gaia, seven merit medals from the Gaia City Hall, the "Monument to the Blood Donor" and the Monument of S. António Maria Claret, inaugurated during the 100^th birthday celebrations of Colégio dos Carvalhos Boarding School (2007), both in Vila Nova de Gaia. Margarida Santos carved a statue of Aristides de Sousa Mendes (2008) for Santarém, the Tribute Trophy to Futebol Clube do Porto, the monuments dedicated to "Dr. David Alves" and "Major Mota", in Póvoa de Varzim, the monument to Youth in Training, in Colégio dos Carvalhos, and "Serenity", a female sculpture displayed in the 3^rd Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition of Amadora.

Margarida Santos has shown her art in hundreds of group exhibitions. Among other activities, she collaborates with the press (written and spoken), writes texts for exhibition catalogues and is dedicated to the production of graphic work and illustrations for poetry.

She is a founding partner of "Cooperativa Cultural Artistas de Gaia", of the National Association of Portuguese Artists, is a member of the National Society of Fine Arts, Lisbon, and of the Cooperativa de Atividades Artísticas Árvore, in Porto.

She lives in Vilar de Andorinho and works in Canelas, where she has her studio.
(Universidade Digital / Gestão de Informação, 2010)