Parque EXPO and the Portuguese Delegation for the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) is going to award the prize, “2009 Art Critic”, in its first edition, to Sandro Araújo and Pedro Mesquita. This distinction, worth 10 thousand Euros, aims to recognise the importance of work carried out by art critics.

Sandro Araújo and Pedro Mesquita are, respectively, the author and director of the documentary, “Paredes Meias”, co-produced by Muzzak/Cinemactiv and RTP, in 2009. The jury for the prize also recognised the visual art critic, Paulo Pires do Vale, and the architectural critic, Nuno Grande, with two honourable mentions.    The official award ceremony for the accolades is scheduled to be held in June 2010, at the SNBA [National Society for Fine Arts], in the presence of the Minister of Culture, alongside the conferral of the AICA/Ministry of Culture awards, also for 2009.

For the selection, the coherence of the projects submitted was considered, on the basis of architectural and contemporary urbanism, which allows observers to form a critical opinion.

This partnership with AICA – ONG, founded in 1950 with the sponsorship of UNESCO with the objective of supporting art criticism, complements the Parque Expo’s mission to promote quality of life in urban areas and the competitiveness of the country.

By way of this project, Parque EXPO aims to cooperate on a permanent basis with other related entities operating in its areas of expertise and interest, namely through institutional participation in fora and events of a scientific and artistic nature, or those relating to the publicising of technical information.