Paula Garcia (b. 1975, São Paulo, Brazil) is an artist, curator, and researcher whose work connects performance, sound, materiality, and politics. Currently pursuing a PhD in Communication and Semiotics at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), Garcia holds an MFA in Visual Arts from Faculdade Santa Marcelina (FASM-SP) and a BFA in Visual Arts from Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP).
Originally trained in performing arts at Michael Howard Studio (New York) and at Teatro Escola Célia Helena (São Paulo), Garcia also worked with José Celso Martinez Corrêa at Teatro Oficina before transitioning to a distinguished career in the visual arts, with a focus on performance. Her long-standing collaboration with Marina Abramovic and the Marina Abramovic Institute has been central to her practice: Abramovic curated Garcia’s work for the Fondation Beyeler in Basel (2014), and together they co-curated Terra Comunal at SESC Pompeia, São Paulo (2015). Since 2015, Garcia has served as a curator for the Marina Abramovic Institute, leading major international projects that intersect artistic creation, curatorial strategies, and performance research.
Her performances have been presented internationally, including Crash Body at the Dark Mofo Festival, Tasmania, Australia (2025); #9 (Noise Body Series) at the MAI Takeover – Southbank Centre, London (2023); CRU / RAW at ARCA, São Paulo (2020); Terra Comunal – Marina Abramovic + MAI at SESC Pompeia, São Paulo (2015); The Artist is an Explorer at the Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2014); and the 7th Biennial at El Museo del Barrio, New York (2013). Early works, such as her participation in the 17th International Festival of Contemporary Art SESC_Videobrasil (2011) and Expanded Gallery at Luciana Brito Galeria (2010), reveal her ongoing commitment to ephemeral, live art practices.
As a curator, Garcia has shaped key performance art programs worldwide. She co-curated As One (Benaki Museum, Athens, 2016) with Marina Abramovic and Serge Le Borgne, served as lead curator for No Intermission (Royal Theatre Carré, Amsterdam, 2020), curated Akış / Flux (Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul, 2018), and the performance program at SP-Arte, São Paulo (2017–2018). She has also contributed to large-scale MAI projects, including the MAI Takeover at the Adelaide Festival (2024) and at Southbank Centre (2023).
Garcia’s work has been included in exhibitions at the Pinacoteca Contemporânea (São Paulo), Seoul Olympic Museum of Art (Korea), Triennale Design Museum (Milan), and the Watermill Center (New York), among others. Her piece #3 from the Noise Body series is part of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo’s permanent collection.
Alongside exhibitions, Garcia has participated in artistic residencies — notably the International Summer Program at the Watermill Center (2012) — and has led workshops and masterclasses internationally. Since 2018, she has been teaching Cleaning the House, a workshop developed by Marina Abramovic, in Karyes, Greece, and in 2024 she led the Laboratories of Perceptions masterclass at the Grotowski Institute in Wroclaw, Poland. She has also contributed to the field through teaching, documentary production (Noise Body, 2016), and the realization of cross-disciplinary projects that expand the possibilities of live art. Garcia is represented by Luciana Brito Galeria, São Paulo.