A man of «firm convictions like a rock», but also with an «eternal sensitivity like nature». This is how Fernando Silva Grade, artist and defender of the environment and heritage who died in 2019, will be forever remembered in a memorial that Tertúlia Farense dedicated to him and that was inaugurated on Thursday, the 20th, in the Parque Ribeirinho de Faro .
Dozens of social gatherings gathered to inaugurate the monument, designed by the architect Amélia Santos, with the support of Cristina Grilo, and which the company Algarbritas, which provided the stone, and the União de Freguesias de Faro helped make it a reality.
Fernando Silva Grade, in addition to being an artist and activist for environmental causes and for defending the Algarve’s heritage, was one of the founders of Tertúlia Farense, as well as one of the most active members of this informal group for reflection on issues related to the Algarve capital and the region.
The memorial was, moreover, installed in the garden that borders the street in the riverside park named after the honoree, a place that «has everything to do» with the late artist, who was a biologist by training and always fought for environmentalist causes.
According to Fernando Leitão Correia, also the founder and main promoter of Tertúlia Farense, this artistic installation appears so that «we never forget the work that [Silva Grade] did and the legacy he left us».
The central element of the memorial, a huge block of limestone from the Algarve, weighing more than 10 tons, had already been in place for about two years and it was already with him in the Ribeirinho Park that Amélia Santos imagined the installation.
«The stone arrived in 2021 and I realized that it was, in itself, insufficient. It was then that I remembered this element of the corten steel frame, reminiscent of a painting or canvas, which can also be seen as a window to something that is on the horizon», summarized Amélia Santos.
Cristina Grilo, who coordinated the entire process, considers that both the piece and the chosen location «are spectacular to honor Fernando», not least because the last paintings she created were related «to rock formations».
In addition, Fernando Silva Grade was also a great defender of the historic built heritage of the Algarve region and has always fought for the preservation of the cultural identity of the Algarve.
Also present at the ceremony was the brother of the honoree, João Grade, who, visibly moved, thanked the recognition that was made.
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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