In 2023, the BIG Career Award will be awarded to the renowned artist, Manuela Bacelar (Coimbra, 1943), whose graphic work has been extremely important for the evolution of children’s illustration books in Portugal, since the 1980s. After having studied for seven years in Czechoslovakia, Manuela has been significantly influenced by Eastern European visual arts. This influence is manifested in the pictorial, poetic and dreamlike quality that she reveals in her illustrated books, along with constant experimentation with techniques and materials. In 1989 she won the most important award in children's illustration - the Golden Apple of the Bratislava International Biennale - for the illustrations for the book "Silka", a curious Nordic legend written by her long-time colleague, Ilse Losa. Manuela Bacelar has illustrated more than 90 books for children, many also written by herself, published by publishing houses in Porto, where she lives and works.