Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha is a Brazilian artist whose work spans performance, directing, research, and environmental activism. Over the past decade, she has developed Margins Project: On Rivers, Buiúnas, and Fireflies, a long-term practice dedicated to listening to and amplifying testimonies of Brazilian rivers affected by environmental catastrophes. The research is grounded in a reflection on the Anthropocene, understood as “the moment when humans cease to fear catastrophe and become the catastrophe itself.” So far, the project has engaged with three rivers—Araguaia, Xingu, and Tapajós—resulting in theatrical performances, workshops, publications, and the creation of Rede Buiúnas, a network of women artists and activists, rivers, and art.

Her works have been presented at major international festivals, coproduced by Vidy-Lausanne, including Festival d’Automne and Kunstenfestivaldesarts, among others. In film, she produced Edna (2021) and Urihi (2026), and codirected The Falling Sky (2024), which premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.