PhD in Design with a thesis addressing racial issues in Portuguese illustration from Estado Novo (University of Lisbon, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology). MA in Visual Arts with dissertation crossing medieval Marginalia and contemporary graffiti (University of Évora). BA in Communication Design (University of Porto) with Erasmus Exchange at Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam. Teaches illustration, drawing and printing related subjects at DELLI - Lusófona University and is an integrated member of COW – Center for Other Worlds, Lusófona University. Her main topics of interest and research include visual narratives, social and racial representations, medieval illumination and letterpress. Rita also practices as an illustrator/ graphic artist, participating, as an author, in multiple publications and events.