Artist Name: Gabriel Siams
Residency Dates: July – September 2025
Born: 1996
Hometown: Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Lives & Works: Antwerp, Belgium
URL: www.gabrielsiams.com | Instagram @gabrielsiams
Education:
2024 – 2026 — Master in Visual Arts: In Situ Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium
2021 – 2022 — 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 (Exchange) in Arts Plastiques University of Paris 8, France
2015 – 2017 — 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
Bio/Statement:
Gabriel Siams’ trajectory as a transmedia artist has been shaped by an early immersion in religious environments, which introduced him to the power of symbolism and its potential for subversion. His research focuses on the connections between ancient symbologies — some predating Christianity — and their ongoing presence in contemporary culture. Siams also explores the potential for transformation of materials, moments of transition, and states of uncertainty – the intermediate, the ambiguous, the malleable. Through installation, photography, moving image, performance and sound, his practice takes on various forms, situated between narrative and documentary, without fully conforming to either.
His work has been exhibited at institutions such as De Singel (Antwerp), Culturgest – Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos (Lisbon), BoCA Biennial (Lisbon), MAAT – Museum of Art, Architecture, and Technology (Lisbon), Sint-Pauluskerk (Antwerp), and Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas (Azores). Siams’ works are held in public and private collections across South America and Europe.
Support: Gabriel Siams residency is made possible with support from FLAD (Luso-American Development Foundation).
