Today, we’re in conversation with Izabella Bray, a Lisbon-based independent curator and art advisor, about her upcoming exhibition, LISBOA AGORA.
Conceived as a love letter to Lisbon, the exhibition brings together artistic perspectives on a city in constant transformation — exploring its beauty, energy, contradictions and the complex emotions of calling it home.
Taking place at Verride Palácio Santa Catarina from 19 to 21 November, LISBOA AGORA invites us to reflect on what Lisbon means to those who live, work and create here.
LISBOA AGORA is described as a love letter to Lisbon as it exists right now. What was the initial impulse behind the exhibition, and what does “Lisbon now” mean to you personally?
I’ve been in Lisbon for five years and feel incredibly lucky to call it home. The passion I feel for this city’s history, beauty, and culture can be all-consuming. I wanted to give something back to the city that has given me so much and I realized that a show dedicated to celebrating all of it–—the energy, the anxiety, the beauty, and the friction—as felt by the people actively making art in it today was what I wanted to do. I think describing the show as a “love letter” fits because love isn’t all good. Love causes us joy and pain, just as living in Lisbon at this moment in time does. Since the idea came to me I have not been able to stop thinking about it. That sense of immediacy drove everything from reaching out to artists whose current work directly speaks to the friction, to assembling the show in a matter of months to keep that momentum raw and alive. “Lisbon now” to me means there is no better time than the present to express the strongest feelings living inside of us.
The exhibition brings together Portuguese-born and international artists working across different mediums. How did you curate the conversation between these different artistic styles, textures, and mediums to reflect the atmosphere of the city?
The evolving identity of Lisbon is being continuously shaped by the convergence of Portuguese locals with the international community. Being a foreign resident who was raised speaking Portuguese in the U.S. by Brazilian parents makes me feel uniquely positioned between these worlds.
For this exhibition, it was nonnegotiable to give equal weight to both perspectives. Rather than grouping works by nationality or medium, I curated the pieces to create a sensory dialogue. Visitors will see intimate, introspective pieces alongside bold, expressive gestures. By joining different mediums the show mirrors the physical experience of walking through Lisbon, unexpected juxtapositions that somehow feel connected.
Lisbon is currently experiencing a period of intense transformation — socially, culturally and visually. How do you see artists responding to these changes, and how does the exhibition reflect the tension between preserving the city’s identity and embracing its evolution?
Many of the artists that I have spoken with share a complicated perspective on the rapid growth of the city. While Portuguese artists appreciate the admiration that tourists and foreign residents have for their hometown, they share the concern that their city is slipping further away from them. Ironically, foreign artists having lived here for some time have also begun to feel the same tensions as the city’s growth becomes unsustainable. What I have found most compelling is the compassion that Lisbon’s artists share for humanity. Still, the works exhibited all convey varying points of view. Some express pure joy and gratitude for our city as it is, others highlight the strain, and at times rage, they feel from the economic and bureaucratic conditions required to remain living and working here.
Your curatorial practice often begins with a close interest in the artist’s process and the story behind the work. How did this approach shape LISBOA AGORA, and were there particular conversations or discoveries that influenced the final selection?
In the years I have been living and working in Lisbon, I have become keenly aware of two distinct art worlds that mirror the two social worlds we’ve been discussing–the expat art world and the Portuguese art world. While they exist side by side, they rarely fully merge. Having spoken to many artists on both sides, I know the desire exists to better integrate these ecosystems. This curatorial process started with listening to those personal stories. By focusing on each artist’s journey and underlying motivations, I framed LISBOA AGORA as a platform to bridge this divide, ensuring that the dialogue driving the selection was rooted in mutual respect, shared space, and genuine artistic connection.
The exhibition takes place at Verride Palácio Santa Catarina, a historic setting with a very distinctive atmosphere. How did the architecture and character of the space influence the way you conceived the exhibition and the dialogue between the works?
I feel so fortunate to have LISBOA AGORA take place at Verride Palácio Santa Catarina. Not just for its stunning location overlooking Lisbon’s iconic view, but for what the space and its visionary founder, Kees Eijrond, offer to Lisbon.
Originally from the Netherlands, Kees has been in Lisbon for decades. Beauty was his top priority when he opened Verride Palácio as a hotel in 2017. He honored that by restoring the property alongside renowned Portuguese architect Teresa Nunes da Ponte, and filling the property with Portuguese art and furnishings.
“Lisbon means for me freedom, most of all,” he says. The freedom he found in Lisbon has allowed him to express beauty through his hotel and the Kees Eijrond Foundation–housed in the building just below the hotel, and where LISBOA AGORA is taking place. His deep reverence for the artistry and craftsmanship of this country and city reflect the theme of LISBOA AGORA and our shared philosophy for sharing it with people right now.
If LISBOA AGORA is a portrait of the city at this particular moment, what do you hope visitors will understand — or perhaps feel — about Lisbon after experiencing the exhibition?
We spend much of our time thinking about, and therefore living in, the past or the future. But the current moment is all we really have in life. That is what brought me to art and it is what I keep coming back to when I feel I am veering off the path of my truth. I hope that when visitors leave the exhibition they will feel more proud of the city than when they first walked in, seeing first hand the creativity being expressed here right now. And that the beauty they’ve taken in, not just from the works but from Verride Palácio itself, will inspire them to hold space for the beauty of the present moment in their lives.
Show Details:
LISBOA AGORA
Verride Palacio Santa Catarina
Rua de Santa Catarina 9
Opening Thursday Nov 19 18h
Showing Friday Nov 20 & Saturday Nov 21 from 13h-19h
izabellabray.com
@izabellabray_ on Instagram
IIImages used
1. Exhibition poster
2. Um Fogo Que Nao Queima by Sebastiao Cavaco @sebastiaorcavaco
