I am Maria Lusitano, a visual artist, born in Lisbon in 1971. I live currently in London, to where I moved in 2011. In 2016, after various years of focused spiritual work, I had a profound experience of spiritual awakening that triggered a deep interested in themes of soul-based new economics, spiritual healing, expansion of consciousness, ancient wisdom, mysticism and how all this can be of practical use to the emerging soulful world of the future. I have explored these themes and others, previously, with work with video, video-installation, drawing, artist publications and also, more recently with participatory methodologies that express themselves through the facilitation of workshops using art to approach topics of soul based healing, expansion of consciousness, mysticism, dreams and others.
I hold a first degree in Medicine (University of Coimbra) and also a BA in Fine Art (Ar.co, Lisbon, Portugal) an MFA in Fine Art (2009, Malmö Art Academy, Sweden). In 2015 I concluded my arts-based Ph.D at the University of Westminster, London.
I have exhibited in international events such as Manifesta 5, Photo Espana 6, 29th biennial of Sao Paulo, (2010) and others. My work was exhibited in art venues such as in Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Joshibi university, Tokyo (2010), Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Ireland (2013), Portuguese National Museum of Contemporary Art (2018), MAAT Museum, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (2019), and various other museums and art galleries. I was awarded various scholarships, such as the Swedish Art Scholarship Edstranska Stiefeltse, Calouste Gulbenkian Scholarships and the Science and Technology Foundation scholarship.
My work is present in art collections such as Victoria and Albert Museum Artist Book Collection, Georges Pompidou's Artist Book Collection, MoMA Artist Book collection, EDP Museum, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and various other private collectors such as Prof Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (Current President of Portugal) and António Cachola.
I facilitate arts-based participatory workshops about imagination, empathy, dream work, the soul, ancient wisdom texts and pratices, and other topics, in my studio and also in Artist-run spaces, Museums, Universities (INSEEC, Goldsmiths University).