PhD in Art and Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto (2010). Master's in Art History from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of NOVA University Lisbon (1993). Degree in History, specialising in Art History, from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto (1985).

She is a member of the Portuguese Association of Art Historians and of the International Association of Art Critics.

She chaired the board of Círculo de Cultura Teatral / Teatro Experimental do Porto 2015-21), was a member of the board of Árvore - Cooperativa de Atividades Artísticas (2010-15), and of the board of Lugar do Desenho-Fundação Júlio Resende (2009-14 and 2019-20).

She was Regional Director of Culture for the North of Portugal between April 2021 and December 2023 and Vice-President of Cultural Heritage, IP. until June 2024.

She has curated exhibitions at institutions such as Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis, Museu Nacional Grão Vasco, Museu Municipal Amadeo de Souza Cardoso, Museu do Neo-Realismo, Museu do Design (MUDE), Museu do Douro, Lugar do Desenho-Fundação Júlio Resende, Cooperativa Árvore, Centro de Arte Contemporânea Graça Morais, Centro Cultural de Cascais.

Relevant publications

Journal article

• Monteiro, P.T., Castro, L., Vieira, E. and Gil, F. 2024. Antes do Muro: a Pintura Assunção de Nossa Senhora – Dordio Gomes na Igreja de Nª Sª do Perpétuo Socorro (Porto, 1953). Revista de História da Arte. 18, (Oct. 2024), 64–91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34619/28uv-zly.
• Castro, Laura. 2021. Le geste institutionnel et commémoratif de l’artiste. Pedro Cabrita Reis au Musée Gulbenkian (Lisbonne) et au Musée de Serralves (Porto). Marges – Revue d’Art Contemporain, 33, pp. 43-58.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/marges.2659
• Castro, Laura. 2020. An exhibition and case study of the first private museum in Portugal – João Allen: Collecting the World. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals. ISSN: 1550-1906  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1550190620939975.
• Castro, Laura. 2020. Intimate and political – uses of embroidery and textile in contemporary Portuguese art. H-ART. Revista de historia, teoría y crítica de arte. 6, 150-179. ISSN: 2539-2263. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25025/hart06.2020.09
• Castro, Laura. 2019. Demeures d’artistes et ateliers, une muséalisation paradoxale : une réflexion sur quelques cas au Portugal. Culture & Musées. 34, pp. 171-198. ISSN 2111-4528 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/culturemusees.4064  

• Pereira, Catarina; Laura Castro. 2019. Memória Recapturada: Imagens de uma Comunidade. ARTis ON, n. 9 (dezembro), 125-39. 
  https://artison.letras.ulisboa.pt/index.php/ao/article/view/245.
• Castro, Laura. 2018. From walking artist… to walking visitor… to walking researcher. InterArtive. Special Issue Walking Art / Walking Aesthetics Eds.: Yannis Ziogas, Stella Sylaiou. ISSN: 2013-679X 

https://walkingart.interartive.org/

Book Chapter

• Castro, Laura. 2021. Ateliers de arte e oficinas da liberdade na correspondência de, e para, artistas portugueses dos inícios do século XX. In A Construção da(s) Liberdade(s). Porto: UPorto Press / CITCEM, pp. 427-441. ISBN 978-989-746-308-2.
• Castro, Laura. 2021. Clara Menéres’ Woman-Earth-Life (1977) and the Politics of Censorship, Concealment and Vandalism. In Schmahmann, Brenda (Ed.) – Iconic Works of Art by Feminists and Gender Activists: Mistress-Pieces. New York and London: Routledge, pp. 162-176. ISBN 9780367707453.
• Castro, Laura. 2019. Art, landscape, and rurality. In Hodos (Eds.) Desencaminharte’18. Art on Site. S.l.: CIM Alto Minho, pp. 15-21. ISBN: 978-989-99067-9-2   
• Castro, Laura. 2020. A pele, a fala e a fuga.  Aproximações à obra de Cristina Mateus. In Leandro, Sandra (Ed.) Artistas Plásticas em Portugal. Lisboa: Manufactura, pp. 327-355.

Book and edited book

• Castro, Laura (2021). Dordio Gomes (1890-1976). Porto: Árvore, Cooperativa de Atividades Artísticas /Arraiolos: Câmara Municipal de Arraiolos.
• Castro, Laura (Coord.). 2019. Júlio Resende. A Palavra e a Mão. DGPC-MNSR / Blue Book. ISBN 978-989-54096-7-9.
• Castro, Laura. 2018. Porto, 1916, sem Amadeo. In Soares, Leonor; Santos, Celso et al. (Coord.) – 1º Congresso Internacional Amadeo de Souza Cardoso. Porto: Centro de Investigação Transdisciplinar Cultura, Espaço e Memória, págs. 17-30. ISBN: 978-989-8970-02-2
• Castro, Laura; Abreu, José Guilherme (Eds.). 2017. Public Art in the Digital Creativity Era. International Conference Proceedings 2017. Porto: Universidade Católica Editora/CITAR. ISBN: 978-989-8835-38
• Castro, Laura. 2016. Invenções Magníficas da Vida e da Morte. A Obra de Clara Menéres. In Leandro, Sandra; Silva, Raquel Henriques da (Ed.) Mulheres Escultoras em Portugal. Lisboa: Caleidoscópio. ISBN: 978-989-658-435-1
• Castro, Laura. 2012. Exposições de Arte Contemporânea na Paisagem. Antecedentes, práticas actuais e problemática. Porto: Fundação Engº António de Almeida. ISBN: 978-972-8386-93-1
   

Areas of scientific interest

• History of art and visual culture - modern and contemporary.
• Museology and curatorial studies.
• Art and Landscape;
• Public Art.

Research areas:

• Património e Conservação-Restauro

Theses as supervisor
See list here

Office Hours: Thursday, 3h30 – 5h30 PM