biography
Roberta Lima was born in 1974 in Manaus, Brazil.
After graduating with a degree in architecture in 2001, Lima moved to Austria. In 2007 Lima earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts and in 2013 a PhD in Philosophy. Thereafter Lima worked as lecturer and University Assistant for the Contextual Painting Class at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Roberta Lima uses different media such as photographs, videos, sculptures, and paintings to create installations. Lima explores with alternative narratives of body and space, incorporating various elements of popular media and historical references to produce art and initiate discussions about the role of artist and viewer. Lima looks for intersections between nature and technology, mythology and gender nonconformity, to produce artworks with sustainable and alternative material sources.
Roberta Lima has participated in international events, including at the Cairo Biennale (2008), dounaufestival (2008 and 2016), Wiener Festwochen (2016), Kyoto Experiment (2018), The London Coronet (2019 and 2020) and Vienna Art Week (2022). Lima works are in The Verbund Art Collection, Austrian Federal Photography Collection, MUSA Museum Artothek and Ursula Blickle Video Archive and others. In 2007 Lima was awarded the "Akademiefreundepreis" and "H13 Prize for Performance".
In 2013 Roberta Lima received the Award of Excellence for her PhD dissertation and in 2018 the Austrian Citizenship based on their merit, accomplishments, and contributions to the nation.
Roberta Lima currently lives in Helsinki.
Solo Exhibitions
2023 "Rewriting Love and Pain". Installation. (The Coronet Theatre, London)
2022 "Inicio". Installation. (Parallel Vienna)
2021 "Bright". (Charim Factory, Vienna)
2021 "Queer Way". Public Installation. (das weisse haus, Vienna)
2020 "Ghost Plant". Installation. (Sammlung Friedrichshof Stadtraum, Vienna)
2019 "Embodiment of Water". Video Installation. (The Coronet Theatre, London)
2018 "Embodiment of Water". The Performance Trilogy. (Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan)
2017 "Comfort Zone" (Charim Events, Vienna)
2017"Arki Feminista" (VBKö, Vienna)
2016 "Queer Way" (donaufestival, Krems)
2016 "Future Past Light Cones - Siargao" (Siargao Island, Philippines)
2015 "Parallel Vienna"
2015"Kaleidoscope" (Funkenflug 1 at Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2015"Solo Projects" (ARCOmadrid, Madrid)
2013 "InsideOut" (ABC - Art Berlin Contemporary, Berlin)
2013 "2'20''" (EIKON SchAUfenster, Vienna)
2012 "Aesthetics of Risk" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2012 "ReBirth" (Defibrillator, Chicago)
2012 "Displacement" (White Box, New York)
2009 "From Transgression to Transcription" (Stadtgalerie Schwaz, Tirol)
2008 "Into Pieces" (das weisse haus, Vienna)
2008 "6teen Stitches" (Donaufestival, Krems)
2007 "Lights Out!" (Kunstraum NOE, Vienna)
2007 "Cut it Out!" – Body & Video Installation (Kapelica Gallery, Ljubljana)
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2023 "Stretching through time and space: On the Coloniality of Objects and Projects" (Angewandte Festival, Vienna).
2022 "House of Challenging Orders" (VIENNA ART WEEK)
2021 "Kunst Ist" (Merano Arte, Italy)
2018 "When Gesture Becomes Event" (City Art Gallery Ljubljana)
2018 "Outside In" (The Coronet Theatre, London)
2020 "When Gesture Becomes Event" (Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2018 "Während alle fotografieren können sich manche mit der Fotografie beschäftigen" (Fotohof, Salzburg)
2018 "The Myth of Plenty" (Orto Botanico, Lucca)
2018 "Archipelago Mountain" (EXHIBITION LABORATORY, Helsinki)
2018 "Endless Process" (MUU Cable, Helsinki)
2018"Me & You - Performance Lab" (Tanzquartier, Vienna)
2018"Spaces of Transition - Performance Lab II: The Fierce Urgency of Now" (Museum of Impossible Forms, Helsinki)
2017 "Material Traces" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2017"don't call it off-space!" (das weisse haus, Vienna)
2017"QUEER ENCOUNTERS _ VIENNA TRANS L. A." (CALARTS, Valencia, California)
2017"WELT KOMPAKT" (Frei_Raum Q21 exhibition space. MuseumsQuartier, Vienna)
2017"Austrian Performance Art Season. Feminicities: Performing Potential Avenues" (Solyanka VPA gallery, Moscow)
2017"Pro(s)thesis" (xhibit, Picture Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
2016 "Fyodor's Performance Carousel" (Wiener Festwochen, Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2015 "WITH EYES AGHAST: TRANSMANNERIST REACTIONS" (xhibit, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria)
2015"There Are More Things..." (Kunstverein Baden, Baden)
2015"We gave Our Best, Now the Rest is Up to the Hope Chest: Los Angeles" (Eastside International Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA)
2015"VIENNAinTRANSYLVANIA" (Atelier Patru, Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
2015"Face Forward" (Kunst Arzt, Kyoto, Japan)
2015"Self-timer Stories" (MUSAC, Leon, Spain)
2015"Urban Diary" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2015"Mujeres Alcanzando la Luz" (Casa Museo del Banco Nacional de Panama, Panama City)
2015"Straight to Hell" in collaboration with Jakob Lena Knebl featuring R:U // {d}ead.[s]ouls (Kosmos Theater, Vienna)
2014 "Selbstauslöser" (Museum der Moderne, Salzburg)
2014"Self-timer Stories" (ACFNY, New York)
2014"PussyBarbecue" (schneiderei, Vienna)
2013 "HOT STONES, WET ZONES, FAST MELONS" (VBKö, Vienna)
2013 "S/HE IS THE ONE" (Kunstraum NOE, Vienna)
2013 "Hetero q.b." (Museu do Chiado, Lisbon)
2013 "Steel and Freedom" (Otto Zoo Gallery, Milan)
2012 "IN ACTION - Performance, Aktionismus und Konzepte" (Salon Dahlmann, Berlin)
2012 "tracing paper" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2012 "nacht" (Ostlicht Galerie für Fotografie, Vienna)
2011 "Or Rather, What Can Words Do? / Oder vielmehr, was können Wörter tun?" (VBKö, Vienna)
2011"chuan men" (Amelie Gallery 798, Beijing)
2011"Classical collection and young artists' positions" (Konzett Gallery, Vienna)
2011"Wiener Glut" (KIT, Düsseldorf)
2010 "Projects and Assignments" (Saprophyt, Vienna)
2010 "In den Strassen... " (Ve.Sch, Vienna)
2010 "where do we go from here?" (Secession, Vienna)
2010 "Gemma Kunst schaun" (Damen Salon, Villach)
2010 "Blickwechsel - Austrian Contemporary Photography" (Westlicht, Vienna)
2009 "Grained" (The Back Loft, Dublin)
2009"PERFORMANCE II: Übertragung und Übersetzung" (Gallery Raum mit Licht, Vienna)
2009"Fragments of Art in Translation" (Gallery Raum mit Licht, Vienna)
2008 "Synchronicity" in collaboration with Dorit Margreiter (11th International Cairo Biennale)
2007 "Reich und schön müssen leider draussen bleiben" (Gallery FIELD, Berlin)
2007 "Provokation? II Unterschiedliche Aspekte von Provokation" (Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna)
2007 "Fresh Europe 07" (Kogart House, Budapest)
2007 "SCOOP 07" (Momentum – Photographie Editionen, Vienna)
2007 "Diploma exhibition 06/07" (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna – Semperdepot)
2007 "ARTmART" (Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2007 "Auftritte": Collaboration with the Austrian artist Anja Manfredi (Galerie Österreichisches Kulturforum, Berlin)
2007 "Inversion": Diploma Work (Aula - Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
2006 MAK NITE – Exhibition "Microstories Austria – Kurzfilme österreichischer Medienhochschulen" (MAK, Vienna)
2006 "ALL NIGHT LONG"(Christine Koenig Galerie, Vienna)
2005 "I can see clearly now" (Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna)
2004 "The Dentist" (Vienna)
2003 "Zurich" (Galerie Gabriele Senn, Vienna)
Prizes, scholarships, and fellowships
2013 Award of Excellence (Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung, Austria)
2007 Kunstpreis H13 2007 (Kunstraum Noe, Austria)
2007 Akademiefreundepreis (Vienna, Austria)
Artist's Residences
2023 Alter do Chao (Amazon, Brazil)
2021 Charim Factory (Brotfabrik, Vienna)
2012 -2018 Atelier Westbahnstrasse (BMKOES, Austria)
2011 Chicago, USA (BMKOES, Austria)
2010 Limerick, Ireland (Daghdha Space)
2009 Beigao. Beijing, China (BMKOES, Austria)
Lectures, workshops, conferences
2023 Transforming Landscapes (Galpao Bela Mare, Rio de Janeiro)
2017Transforming Landscapes (Fotoativa, Belem)
2021 Lecture for the Art and Digital Media Class (Academy of Fines Arts Vienna)
2020 Ghost Plant - Online discussion (White Box, New York)
2017 Ghost Plant: Roberta Lima on structure and networking systems - online discussion (Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2019 Resisting Convention - Lecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
2017Everyday Rebellion - Workshop with Mare Tralla - Estonian Academy of Arts (Tallin, Estonia)
2018 Talk: Dialogue on Technique with Nanako Nakajima (Dramaturge) - Kyoto Experiment 2018 (ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Japan)
2017 Symposium: National Identity and Cultural Events - Kyoto Experiment 2017 (ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Japan)
2017Artist's talk (Solyanka VPA Gallery, Moscow, Russia)
2017Art Talk with Ursula Maria Probst at VBKö, Vienna
2016 Laboratory "Vulnerability Matters" (Rauma Biennale Balticum 2016, Finland)
2016 Art Talk with Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein (Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, Philippines).
2015 Symposium "Face Forward" (HAPS, Kyoto, Japan).
2014 Lecture "The code and strategies of the performative" (Lectures Series on Methods and Theories, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna).
2013 Workshop "The camera as co-performer" (School for artistic photography Friedl Kubelka, Vienna).
2013Artist's talk for the class of Culture and Social Anthropology of the University of Vienna (Kunstraum Noe, Austria).
2013"Géneros sem medo" (Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea / Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal).
2012 Lecture for the class of "Experimentelle Gestaltung" (Universität Für Künstletische ind Industrielle Gestaltung Linz).
2011 FIGURES DE L'ART-THÉORIE (ENSBA Lyon, France).
2010 Artists' talk and studio visit as part of the program of The School for Artistic Photography Friedl Kubelka (Zollergasse Studio, Wien).
2009 Artists’ talk with artist Eva Schlegel and architect Carl Pruscha (Stadtgalerie Schwaz, Tirol)
2009Artists’ talk – part of the Beijing excursion program of Australian post-graduation students from RMIT MFA and DFA (Beigao studio 5, Beijing).
2008 Presentation of the dissertation "Rethinking Space Through Action" at the conference "State of Play" (Gradcam, Dublin)
2008 "...after the Academy": Talk and discussion at Class from Matthias Herrmann (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
2007 Lecture about "Body and Performance" at Class from Prof. Dr. Felicitas Thun (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna)
2007 Artist's discussion at Fotogalerie Wien
2005 "18.28 Vortrags und Gesprächsplattform": Workshop about body modification (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna)
2004 Lecture for the architecture class (Class for Environment & Conservation at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna) from Univ.Prof. Dr. Carl Pruscha.
After graduating with a degree in architecture in 2001, Lima moved to Austria. In 2007 Lima earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts and in 2013 a PhD in Philosophy. Thereafter Lima worked as lecturer and University Assistant for the Contextual Painting Class at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Roberta Lima uses different media such as photographs, videos, sculptures, and paintings to create installations. Lima explores with alternative narratives of body and space, incorporating various elements of popular media and historical references to produce art and initiate discussions about the role of artist and viewer. Lima looks for intersections between nature and technology, mythology and gender nonconformity, to produce artworks with sustainable and alternative material sources.
Roberta Lima has participated in international events, including at the Cairo Biennale (2008), dounaufestival (2008 and 2016), Wiener Festwochen (2016), Kyoto Experiment (2018), The London Coronet (2019 and 2020) and Vienna Art Week (2022). Lima works are in The Verbund Art Collection, Austrian Federal Photography Collection, MUSA Museum Artothek and Ursula Blickle Video Archive and others. In 2007 Lima was awarded the "Akademiefreundepreis" and "H13 Prize for Performance".
In 2013 Roberta Lima received the Award of Excellence for her PhD dissertation and in 2018 the Austrian Citizenship based on their merit, accomplishments, and contributions to the nation.
Roberta Lima currently lives in Helsinki.
Solo Exhibitions
2023 "Rewriting Love and Pain". Installation. (The Coronet Theatre, London)
2022 "Inicio". Installation. (Parallel Vienna)
2021 "Bright". (Charim Factory, Vienna)
2021 "Queer Way". Public Installation. (das weisse haus, Vienna)
2020 "Ghost Plant". Installation. (Sammlung Friedrichshof Stadtraum, Vienna)
2019 "Embodiment of Water". Video Installation. (The Coronet Theatre, London)
2018 "Embodiment of Water". The Performance Trilogy. (Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto, Japan)
2017 "Comfort Zone" (Charim Events, Vienna)
2017"Arki Feminista" (VBKö, Vienna)
2016 "Queer Way" (donaufestival, Krems)
2016 "Future Past Light Cones - Siargao" (Siargao Island, Philippines)
2015 "Parallel Vienna"
2015"Kaleidoscope" (Funkenflug 1 at Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2015"Solo Projects" (ARCOmadrid, Madrid)
2013 "InsideOut" (ABC - Art Berlin Contemporary, Berlin)
2013 "2'20''" (EIKON SchAUfenster, Vienna)
2012 "Aesthetics of Risk" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2012 "ReBirth" (Defibrillator, Chicago)
2012 "Displacement" (White Box, New York)
2009 "From Transgression to Transcription" (Stadtgalerie Schwaz, Tirol)
2008 "Into Pieces" (das weisse haus, Vienna)
2008 "6teen Stitches" (Donaufestival, Krems)
2007 "Lights Out!" (Kunstraum NOE, Vienna)
2007 "Cut it Out!" – Body & Video Installation (Kapelica Gallery, Ljubljana)
Group Exhibitions (selected)
2023 "Stretching through time and space: On the Coloniality of Objects and Projects" (Angewandte Festival, Vienna).
2022 "House of Challenging Orders" (VIENNA ART WEEK)
2021 "Kunst Ist" (Merano Arte, Italy)
2018 "When Gesture Becomes Event" (City Art Gallery Ljubljana)
2018 "Outside In" (The Coronet Theatre, London)
2020 "When Gesture Becomes Event" (Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2018 "Während alle fotografieren können sich manche mit der Fotografie beschäftigen" (Fotohof, Salzburg)
2018 "The Myth of Plenty" (Orto Botanico, Lucca)
2018 "Archipelago Mountain" (EXHIBITION LABORATORY, Helsinki)
2018 "Endless Process" (MUU Cable, Helsinki)
2018"Me & You - Performance Lab" (Tanzquartier, Vienna)
2018"Spaces of Transition - Performance Lab II: The Fierce Urgency of Now" (Museum of Impossible Forms, Helsinki)
2017 "Material Traces" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2017"don't call it off-space!" (das weisse haus, Vienna)
2017"QUEER ENCOUNTERS _ VIENNA TRANS L. A." (CALARTS, Valencia, California)
2017"WELT KOMPAKT" (Frei_Raum Q21 exhibition space. MuseumsQuartier, Vienna)
2017"Austrian Performance Art Season. Feminicities: Performing Potential Avenues" (Solyanka VPA gallery, Moscow)
2017"Pro(s)thesis" (xhibit, Picture Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
2016 "Fyodor's Performance Carousel" (Wiener Festwochen, Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2015 "WITH EYES AGHAST: TRANSMANNERIST REACTIONS" (xhibit, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria)
2015"There Are More Things..." (Kunstverein Baden, Baden)
2015"We gave Our Best, Now the Rest is Up to the Hope Chest: Los Angeles" (Eastside International Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA)
2015"VIENNAinTRANSYLVANIA" (Atelier Patru, Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
2015"Face Forward" (Kunst Arzt, Kyoto, Japan)
2015"Self-timer Stories" (MUSAC, Leon, Spain)
2015"Urban Diary" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2015"Mujeres Alcanzando la Luz" (Casa Museo del Banco Nacional de Panama, Panama City)
2015"Straight to Hell" in collaboration with Jakob Lena Knebl featuring R:U // {d}ead.[s]ouls (Kosmos Theater, Vienna)
2014 "Selbstauslöser" (Museum der Moderne, Salzburg)
2014"Self-timer Stories" (ACFNY, New York)
2014"PussyBarbecue" (schneiderei, Vienna)
2013 "HOT STONES, WET ZONES, FAST MELONS" (VBKö, Vienna)
2013 "S/HE IS THE ONE" (Kunstraum NOE, Vienna)
2013 "Hetero q.b." (Museu do Chiado, Lisbon)
2013 "Steel and Freedom" (Otto Zoo Gallery, Milan)
2012 "IN ACTION - Performance, Aktionismus und Konzepte" (Salon Dahlmann, Berlin)
2012 "tracing paper" (Charim Gallery, Vienna)
2012 "nacht" (Ostlicht Galerie für Fotografie, Vienna)
2011 "Or Rather, What Can Words Do? / Oder vielmehr, was können Wörter tun?" (VBKö, Vienna)
2011"chuan men" (Amelie Gallery 798, Beijing)
2011"Classical collection and young artists' positions" (Konzett Gallery, Vienna)
2011"Wiener Glut" (KIT, Düsseldorf)
2010 "Projects and Assignments" (Saprophyt, Vienna)
2010 "In den Strassen... " (Ve.Sch, Vienna)
2010 "where do we go from here?" (Secession, Vienna)
2010 "Gemma Kunst schaun" (Damen Salon, Villach)
2010 "Blickwechsel - Austrian Contemporary Photography" (Westlicht, Vienna)
2009 "Grained" (The Back Loft, Dublin)
2009"PERFORMANCE II: Übertragung und Übersetzung" (Gallery Raum mit Licht, Vienna)
2009"Fragments of Art in Translation" (Gallery Raum mit Licht, Vienna)
2008 "Synchronicity" in collaboration with Dorit Margreiter (11th International Cairo Biennale)
2007 "Reich und schön müssen leider draussen bleiben" (Gallery FIELD, Berlin)
2007 "Provokation? II Unterschiedliche Aspekte von Provokation" (Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna)
2007 "Fresh Europe 07" (Kogart House, Budapest)
2007 "SCOOP 07" (Momentum – Photographie Editionen, Vienna)
2007 "Diploma exhibition 06/07" (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna – Semperdepot)
2007 "ARTmART" (Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2007 "Auftritte": Collaboration with the Austrian artist Anja Manfredi (Galerie Österreichisches Kulturforum, Berlin)
2007 "Inversion": Diploma Work (Aula - Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
2006 MAK NITE – Exhibition "Microstories Austria – Kurzfilme österreichischer Medienhochschulen" (MAK, Vienna)
2006 "ALL NIGHT LONG"(Christine Koenig Galerie, Vienna)
2005 "I can see clearly now" (Krinzinger Projekte, Vienna)
2004 "The Dentist" (Vienna)
2003 "Zurich" (Galerie Gabriele Senn, Vienna)
Prizes, scholarships, and fellowships
2013 Award of Excellence (Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung, Austria)
2007 Kunstpreis H13 2007 (Kunstraum Noe, Austria)
2007 Akademiefreundepreis (Vienna, Austria)
Artist's Residences
2023 Alter do Chao (Amazon, Brazil)
2021 Charim Factory (Brotfabrik, Vienna)
2012 -2018 Atelier Westbahnstrasse (BMKOES, Austria)
2011 Chicago, USA (BMKOES, Austria)
2010 Limerick, Ireland (Daghdha Space)
2009 Beigao. Beijing, China (BMKOES, Austria)
Lectures, workshops, conferences
2023 Transforming Landscapes (Galpao Bela Mare, Rio de Janeiro)
2017Transforming Landscapes (Fotoativa, Belem)
2021 Lecture for the Art and Digital Media Class (Academy of Fines Arts Vienna)
2020 Ghost Plant - Online discussion (White Box, New York)
2017 Ghost Plant: Roberta Lima on structure and networking systems - online discussion (Künstlerhaus, Vienna)
2019 Resisting Convention - Lecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
2017Everyday Rebellion - Workshop with Mare Tralla - Estonian Academy of Arts (Tallin, Estonia)
2018 Talk: Dialogue on Technique with Nanako Nakajima (Dramaturge) - Kyoto Experiment 2018 (ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Japan)
2017 Symposium: National Identity and Cultural Events - Kyoto Experiment 2017 (ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Japan)
2017Artist's talk (Solyanka VPA Gallery, Moscow, Russia)
2017Art Talk with Ursula Maria Probst at VBKö, Vienna
2016 Laboratory "Vulnerability Matters" (Rauma Biennale Balticum 2016, Finland)
2016 Art Talk with Felicitas Thun-Hohenstein (Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, Philippines).
2015 Symposium "Face Forward" (HAPS, Kyoto, Japan).
2014 Lecture "The code and strategies of the performative" (Lectures Series on Methods and Theories, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna).
2013 Workshop "The camera as co-performer" (School for artistic photography Friedl Kubelka, Vienna).
2013Artist's talk for the class of Culture and Social Anthropology of the University of Vienna (Kunstraum Noe, Austria).
2013"Géneros sem medo" (Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea / Museu do Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal).
2012 Lecture for the class of "Experimentelle Gestaltung" (Universität Für Künstletische ind Industrielle Gestaltung Linz).
2011 FIGURES DE L'ART-THÉORIE (ENSBA Lyon, France).
2010 Artists' talk and studio visit as part of the program of The School for Artistic Photography Friedl Kubelka (Zollergasse Studio, Wien).
2009 Artists’ talk with artist Eva Schlegel and architect Carl Pruscha (Stadtgalerie Schwaz, Tirol)
2009Artists’ talk – part of the Beijing excursion program of Australian post-graduation students from RMIT MFA and DFA (Beigao studio 5, Beijing).
2008 Presentation of the dissertation "Rethinking Space Through Action" at the conference "State of Play" (Gradcam, Dublin)
2008 "...after the Academy": Talk and discussion at Class from Matthias Herrmann (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna)
2007 Lecture about "Body and Performance" at Class from Prof. Dr. Felicitas Thun (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna)
2007 Artist's discussion at Fotogalerie Wien
2005 "18.28 Vortrags und Gesprächsplattform": Workshop about body modification (Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna)
2004 Lecture for the architecture class (Class for Environment & Conservation at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna) from Univ.Prof. Dr. Carl Pruscha.