LUIZA TESTA

Resident May 2024

Luiza Testa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) in Language Studies from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a Master's degree in Critical Theory (Critical Theory and the Arts) from the School of Visual Arts – New York, with the thesis The De-socialization of the Private Sphere in “A Room of One’s Own”.

She headed the art gallery onzedezesseis from 2010 to 2016. After obtaining her Master´s degree in 2017, she completed an internship in the Curatorial Department at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, in New York. Upon her return to Brazil, she worked as a producer in exhibitions such as Ai Weiwei – Raiz and Anish Kapoor – Surge.

Since 2020, she has been actively involved in the curatorial area, in particular in projects which promote the social debate, like gender, sexuality, feminism, the environment and the digital arts. In addition to her work in the Visual Arts segment, Luiza is also a translator.

"From the beginning, my goal has been to find connections between the ritual of Tarantism and the hypersexualization in Carnival, as well as the suppression in Tarantism, with the aim of highlighting the resilience and resistance of women against societal constraints and control. What I discovered was a complex universe involving women who possess a deep knowledge of their origins and ancestors. They remind me of the "mães de santo" of Candomblé, matriarchs of samba, and quilombola women, custodians of an enduring culture. On the 29th, I will present images that connect these women, showing that Southern Italy and the Global South, of which Brazil is a part, are intrinsically connected."