Cecília Carvalhal is a Brazilian interdisciplinary visual artist whose research explores the body as a medium for creative, political, and social inquiry. Her practice examines the central role of the body in performance art and the ways in which artists have employed it to confront and articulate issues of gender, sexuality, and race. After thirteen years working as an assistant director in the film industry in Brazil, Cecília felt a growing need to return to academia and pursue a Master of Fine Arts. The Intermedia Program at the University of Maine marked a pivotal turning point in her life, offering a transformative perspective on what art can be.

Rooted at the intersections of video, projection, performance, and creative costumes, Cecília’s practice investigates the body as an active site of activism and storytelling, challenging normative narratives that shape identity and agency. By merging poetry and politics, she highlights the transformative power of performance art and the body as radical tools for reimagining selfhood and enacting social change.

Cecilia is an Interdisciplinary PhD candidate at the University of Maine, where she researches the intersections between gender performativity and embodiment through performance art, exploring the body as a site of media and identity hybridization.