LAURA CESANA:           

Laura Cesana was born in Rome, spent her childhood in New York City and now lives and works in Portugal. She received a degree in Economics from the University of Rome, a degree in arts from the Escola Superior de Educação pela Arte in Lisbon and an M.A. in Education (specializing in Visual Arts) from Boston University. She studied painting, etching and drawing at the Atelier Livre of the Municipality of Porto Alegre, Brazil, etching at Temple University, in Rome, and drawing at the Art Student’s League in New York City.

She was a teacher at the Escola Superior de Educação pela Arte and Assistant Professor at the Escola Superior de Educação in Lisbon, responsible for the Visual Arts program, until 1995.

She has also illustrated books and newspaper articles, and held one-woman shows in Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Grand-Duché du Luxembourg, France, Hong-Kong, Macao and U.S.A..

         Author of the bilingual book whose title and subtitle are:"JEWISH VESTIGES IN PORTUGAL"-"travels of a painter" (hard cover, 160 pages, over 116 colored photos of places and reproductions of paintings; text in English and Portuguese, notes, bibliography, index) Lisbon 1997, first edition.. Lisbon: 1998, second edition. ISBN: 972-97370-0-2).

(Versão Portuguesa)  

Prizes and Grants

• Bronze Medal prize of the "Núcleo de Arte e Cultura", S. Paulo - Brazil, 1989.
• Fulbright-Hays, March 1984 and Gulbenkian Foundation for three one-woman exhibit in U. S. A.: Washington D.C., Arlington, Virginia and Boston.
• Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, post-graduation grant for investigation in painting on Jewish Vestiges in Portugal (years 1990-91 and 1991-92). This investigation finalized with the publishing of the bilingual book mentioned above.
• Distinguished by PALCUS in 2002
• In 2003 Laura Cesana was honored by the President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, with the title of "Commendatore dell'ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana"