Henrique Delgado Award 2024

21 March 2024 - World Puppetry Day - São Luiz Teatro Municipal

On World Puppetry Day, 21 March 2022, at Theatre São Luiz, the third edition of the Henrique Delgado Cultural Merit Award was given to Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, in the year that celebrates 36 years of activity.

A singular structure on the puppetry scene in Portugal, the Teatro de Marionetas do Porto was founded in 1988 by the late João Paulo Seara Cardoso (1956-2010) and has contributed to the enhancement of the Portuguese puppetry and to its international recognition.

João Paulo Seara Cardoso's innovative work and very strong aesthetic, together with his collaborators and the company's permanent team, are part of the history of puppetry in Portugal, in addition to the numerous awards and national and international tours.

After the death of João Paulo Seara Cardoso, Isabel Barros took over the artistic direction of the company. A regular collaborator of Teatro de Marionetas do Porto since 1994, in terms of movement and choreography, and with a vast CV as a choreographer, performer, programmer and trainer, she has worked tirelessly to preserve the company's memory, but also in its artistic progression, with the development of new creations.

In 2013, the company opened the Puppet Museum of Porto, a dream of its founder, and in 2016, the Pólo das Marionetas/Quinta de Bonjoia was opened, where they have been working on social integration with local communities.

Congratulations to Teatro de Marionetas do Porto!

The Henrique Delgado Cultural Merit Award atributed by A Tarumba/FIMFA is biannual and intends to honour personalities or institutions that have developed a decisive work in recognition, preserving and promoting the puppetry arts.

_{^{Henrique Delgado Award: Design Flúor Studio
Photography: Alípio Padilha}}