José Manuel Castanheira

Scenographer, Architect, and Painter, with a PhD from the Universidade de Lisboa. With an extensive national and international career, he has crossed paths with great masters such as Ricard Salvat, Georges Banu, José Triana, Fernando Arrabal, Jerzy Grotowski, Guy-Claude François, Yannis Kokkos, Jorge Dubatti, Juan Mayorga, José Luis Gómez, Aderbal Freire-Filho, José Sanchis Sinisterra, Rogério de Carvalho, Carlos Avilez, Carlos Fernando, Artur Ramos, Ignacio García, João Mota, and Joaquim Benite.

Starting from theatre, he has developed a multifaceted practice in Exhibition Scenography/Museology, Theatre Architecture, Painting, and Design, demonstrating a permanent interest in research and the transmission of knowledge, which, alongside his creations, has led him to various international institutions and to the authorship of several books and articles. In cinema, he designed the scenography for the film "Vai e Vem" by João César Monteiro (2002). In Theatre Architecture, he led the rehabilitation project for the Teatro Gregório Mascarenhas (Silves), served as consultant for the construction of the Culturgest/CGD Auditorium (Lisbon), and currently coordinates the rehabilitation project for the Cine Gardunha (Fundão). He has designed over one hundred posters for theatre, cinema, and festivals (Festival de Almagro - 2021, Venice Biennale - 2007, and Festival de Almada - 1997). He is a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes and the Academia de las Artes Escénicas in Spain. Retrospectives of his work have been exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Fundación La Abadía in Madrid, MEIAC in Badajoz, Festival de Almada, CAE in Figueira da Foz, ACERT in Tondela, CCCCB in Castelo Branco, and PQ - Prague Quadrennial. He was honoured by the Festival de Almada (2021) and received the Gold Medals for Cultural Merit from the city of Almada (2023) and Cultural Merit from the Ministry of Culture (2025).

He has created or presented scenographies, pedagogical activities, conferences, and exhibitions in Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Cuba, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, England, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, and Uruguay.