Rio de Janeiro, BR — Lisbon, PT — Antwerp, BE
Gabriel Siams' trajectory as a transmedia artist has been influenced by his childhood in a religious environment.
Accompanying his mother to church every Sunday exposed him to the power of symbolism and the possibility of subverting it. By transforming this formative experience into a focal point of exploration, his research delves into the relationships constructed from ancient symbologies, which may date back to before Christ and continue to be present in contemporary culture.
Siams also explores the potential for transformation of materials, moments of transition, and states of indefinition; the intermediate, the ambiguous, the malleable. Through installation, photography, moving image, performance and sound, his practice takes on various forms, between narrative and documentary, but not conforming to one form or the other.
Education
2024 — 2026 Master in Visual Arts: In Situ
Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (Belgium)
Supported by Arts Training Abroad Scholarship — Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
2020 — 2021 Post-graduation in Communication and Arts
Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of NOVA University of Lisbon (Portugal)
2016 — 2019 BA in Multimedia Art: Performance/Installation
Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (Portugal)
2018 BA (Erasmus+) in Arts Plastiques
University of Paris 8 (France)
2016 BA in Scenography
Faculty of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
2014 — 2017 BA in Cinema
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Solo Exhibitions/Installations
2025 The Faith Show — Wilfried Van Hasselt Gallery, Antwerp - Belgium
2025 Madonna's Runway — Sint-Pauluskerk, Antwerp - Belgium
2018 The Sword and the Mirror — Cisterna da Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon - Portugal
Collective Exhibitions — Selected
2026 Soft Instructions — Art Cake, Brooklyn - United States of America
2025 Whispers In Plain Sight — Governors Island, New York - United States of America
2025 IN KLEINE LETTERS — Bibliotheek Couwelaar, Antwerp - Belgium
2024 HIGHLY CONFUSING TIMES — ARBAG, Lisbon - Portugal
2023 Deslize — Salto, Lisbon - Portugal
2023 Roer o risco — Galeria da Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon - Portugal
2022 Chave na Serradura — Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, Azores - Portugal
2022 200 Perguntas a Cada — Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II, Lisbon - Portugal
2022 Tudo Que É Estranho... — GAAT, Lisbon - Portugal
2022 An Elemental Thing — ÚTERO, Lisbon - Portugal
2021 ESPASMOS REMANESCENTES — Cossoul, Lisbon - Portugal
2021 FROM/SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL — EGEU, Lisbon - Portugal
2019 Temporary Zone — Culturgest - Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Lisbon - Portugal
2018 FUSO - Annual of Video Art International of Lisbon — Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT), Lisbon - Portugal
2018 XXXV FIDEM — International Art Medal Federation, Ottawa - Canada
2017 BYOB — Zaratan, Lisbon - Portugal
Art Residencies
2025 Residency Unlimited — New York, United States of America
Supported by FLAD Grants for Artistic Residencies in the United States — FLAD (Luso-American Development Foundation)
2022 FLAD X Arquipélago - Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, Azores - Portugal
2022 Mutantes — BoCA (Biennial of Contemporary Arts): Casa da Cerca, Culturgest - Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (MAAT), Centro Cultural de Belém, Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Teatro do Bairro Alto and Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II, Lisbon - Portugal
2021 From/Since Time Immemorial — EGEU, Lisbon - Portugal
2020 Art Residency for Musicians — Carpintarias de São Lázaro, Lisbon - Portugal
2019 Temporary Zone — Culturgest - Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Lisbon - Portugal
2016 Cena Aberta — Funarte, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Stage Designs
2025 Light Music (Nocturne) — De Singel, Antwerp - Belgium
2019 APEX — Culturgest - Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Lisbon - Portugal
Screenings
2018 FUSO - Annual of Video Art International of Lisbon — Claudia (2018) — Museum of Art, Architecture and Tecnology (MAAT), Lisbon - Portugal
2017 Martinique Film Festival Selection — Re-dreaming the Unexpected: Humans (2017)
Publications/Press
2023 Rato ao Sol — Online
2023 AT_ — Georgia
2023 Something is always born or reinvented when a Slip happens — Umbigo, Portugal
2023 GRÃO Art Residency Catalogue — Portugal
2023 DOSE #10 — Portugal
2022 Fury of life: works from the FLAD collection at Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas — Umbigo, Portugal
2022 Where What Is Not Is — Umbigo, Portugal
2022 Jornal S/Título #2 — Portugal
2020 TEIA #13 — Portugal
2018 XXXV FIDEM Exhibition Catalogue — Canada
Grants/Scholarships
2025 Arts Training Abroad Scholarship — Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
2025 FLAD Grants for Artistic Residencies in the United States — FLAD (Luso-American Development Foundation)
Gabriel Siams’ work is included in the Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, the Belgian State Collection, and in private collections across Brazil and Europe.