The handicraft award “CoMTradição”, established by the Government of the Azores and promoted by the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Professional Qualification and Employment through the Center for Crafts and Design of the Azores (CADA), was awarded this year to artisan Maria da Graça Páscoa, aged 90 , born in Furnas, in São Miguel.
At the Prize award ceremony, this Friday, at the Núcleo de Santo André of the Carlos Machado Museum, in Ponta Delgada, Maria João Carreiro congratulated the artisan’s “diverse and valuable work”, which reflects the mastery of a variety of craft techniques , linked to the textile area or the convent art of artificial flowers, examples of which are the “Registos” of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres or the “Lapinha” Nativity Scenes.
“The name of Maria da Graça Páscoa is confused with Crafts”, stated the Regional Secretary for Youth, Professional Qualification and Employment, to emphasize that Maria da Graça Páscoa is a “living symbol” and a “reference” whose “prestige of her career spanning almost 50 years is inspiring because of how much he contributed to the collective mission of preserving, valuing and disseminating the techniques and artisanal know-how typical of the Azores.
Maria João Carreiro also referred to Maria da Graça Páscoa as a “creator who did not just keep for herself and her work the know-how that distinguishes and differentiates her”, praising the artisan’s taste for teaching and “transmission of knowledge to many artisans who are today his proud followers”.
“Maria da Graça Páscoa went to school, due to the longevity of her career, the variety of craft techniques she mastered and the legacy she built”, she said, and is, therefore, “deserving of the fair recognition and the just tribute that the XIII Government of the Azores seeks to fulfill the “CoMTradição” Career Award.
The awarding of the “CoMTradição” Carrer Award included the launch of the book about the life and work of Maria da Graça Páscoa – published by CADA and written by Célia Cidade, as well as the exhibition of her work at the Carlos Machado Museum, in Ponta Delgada, until on March 17, 2024, and at the Terra Nostra Garden Hotel, in the winner’s home parish, at the time of the Camélias Festival.