1985, lives and works Salvador (BA) / São Paulo (SP), Brazil
Val Souza is an artist with a background in pedagogy and a master’s degree in dance from UFBA. Her work, predominantly centered around performance, stems from studies in philosophy and culture, coupled with a strong interest in the history and iconography of Black women. She incorporates photography, video, and installation through a continuous exploration of self-exposure and subjectivity.
In 2020, Val Souza received the Photography Grant ZUM/IMS, and in 2022, she was the winner of the Life Before Colonialism competition by Place Africa/Black Academy in partnership with Goethe Mannheim. The same year, she participated in collective exhibitions such as “Counter Memory,” “For a Long Time, I Believed I Was Free,” and “Blacks in the Pool.”
In 2023, Val Souza was selected for the Nova Fotografia program at MIS-SP and became one of the winners of the Photo Prix from the French Alliance with the project “Studies of Venus #1,” exhibited at the Encontros de Arles Festival.
Participated in the exhibition Between Our Knots: Ten Years of ZUM/IMS Grant in 2023