Joana Rosa was born in 1959 in Lisbon, where she currently lives and works. She attended St. Martin's School of Art & Design in London in 1978. From 1979 to 1983, she studied at the Slade School of Fine Art Experimental Sculpture Course at London University College. She received a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. She organized the Summer Jewelry Design Course at Ar.Co in Lisbon, where she also taught. She was also a professor in the Drawing Course at IADE, Institute of Visual Arts, Design and Marketing, in Lisbon, and in the Architecture Course at Lusíada University, also in Lisbon. Her work is represented in the collections of MoMA, Serralves Foundation, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and private collections. She received the Lis 79 Award (Ex-aequo Prize), International Biennial of Modern Art (Secretary of State for Culture, Lisbon, Portugal), and the Young Art 92 Award (Ex-aequo Prize), Museum of Chaves, Portugal.