Draft:Barbara Veiga

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Barbara Veiga
Barbara Veiga
Born
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
NationalityBrazilian
Occupation(s)Multimedia artist, photographer, filmmaker, author, environmental activist, speaker
Years active2000s–present
Known forOcean-themed art and activism; co-founding the Liga das Mulheres pelo Oceano; book Sete anos em sete mares
Websitewww.barbaraveiga.com

Barbara Veiga is a Brazilian multimedia artist, photographer, filmmaker, author and environmental activist based in Lisbon. She is known for ocean-centered work that blends visual arts, performance and documentary practices.[1] She is the author of the 2019 book Sete anos em sete mares (Seven Years in Seven Seas) recounting seven years living and working at sea,[2][3] and a co-founder of the Brazilian movement Liga das Mulheres pelo Oceano (Women’s League for the Ocean).[4]

Early life and education

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Veiga was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city enclosed by mountains, the sea and the Atlantic Forest, an environment she frequently cites as formative for her artistic and environmental sensibilities.[5] She earned a degree in journalism and also studied drama and singing.[6]

Career

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Beginnings and ocean years

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In her twenties, Veiga began working across photography, reporting and film on environmental campaigns. She collaborated with international organisations including Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, Amazon Watch, the International Labour Organization and Avaaz,[7] sailing through remote regions such as Antarctica; her experience ranges from the Amazon to the Antarctic and islands all around the globe to document anti-whaling campaigns and ocean conservation actions.[8]

From roughly seven consecutive years living at sea, Veiga produced photo-essays, films and journals that formed the basis of her book Sete anos em sete mares (2019). Reviews and retailer listings describe the work as a travel-memoir/ship’s log highlighting environmental impacts and activist fieldwork across more than 80 countries.[9][10]

She also worked as a senior reporter at TV Globo, writing, producing and directing her own stories.[11]

From 2020 to 2021 she produced a podcast on sustainability, environment, activism, traveling and reflections about the world we live in.[12]

Multidisciplinary practice

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Veiga defines her practice as multidisciplinary, combining exhibitions, installations, mobilization campaigns, and live performances to promote environmental awareness and community building. Her work and profile have been featured internationally, including her lecture at TEDxLisboa in 2023,[13] CreativeMornings,[14][15][16]

In 2019 she relocated her practice partly to Lisbon, Portugal, continuing to produce films, gallery work and public performances.[17]

Women’s League for the Ocean

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In 2019 Veiga co-founded the Liga das Mulheres pelo Oceano with biologist Leandra Gonçalves and journalist Paulina Chamorro to connect and amplify women working in ocean protection; by mid-2020 the network reported more than 400 members in Brazil and abroad.[18] Veiga was also part of the Executive Secretariat of the League from 2019 to 2021.[19] Earlier coverage of the initiative highlighted its rapid growth to hundreds of members.[20]

Exhibitions and artistic performances

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  • Surrender to Nature (Lisbon, 2025). Solo exhibition and live artistic performance series inviting reflection on humanity’s relationship with oceans, forests and other habitats; held 16 May–18 July 2025 at MUHNAC – Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência. Curated by Sofia Marçal.[21][22][23]
  • Kind of Blue (Lisbon, 2024). Exhibition exploring marine imagery and ecological awareness.[24]
  • Earth Layers (Maldives, 2023). Artistic performance designed and presented at the Imagi-Nature Art Festival, represented through a videoclip of the song that expresses ocean and female energy to celebrate Earth and life.[25]
  • One Ocean (Lisbon, 2022). Artistic performance and installation presented on the closing day of the United Nations Ocean Conference in Lisbon (1 July 2022), featuring a melting ice sculpture and sculptural elements; held in a public space by the Altice Arena/Parque das Nações.[26][27][28][29]
  • Navigating through elements (Terceira Island, Azores, 2022). Film and performance as part of an artistic filmmaking residency organised by Movimento Oficina de Cinema (Azores); filmed partly inside an inactive volcano and at sea around the Cabras Islands.[30][31]
  • Mundo Insular (Lisbon, 2022). Exhibition/artistic performance and photographic installation held 7 May–8 June 2022 at Espaço Espelho D’Água.[32][33][34]
  • What I Need (São Paulo, 2019). Artistic performance walking across São Paulo from Luz station to the Cracolândia area carrying a wardrobe filled with stories, letters, photographs, clothes, and personal belongings; offering love, acceptance and listening; concluding with projections and whale sounds.[35]
  • Sea Woman (2019) Artistic performance series touring Brazil, Europe and Japan (including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Lisbon, Tokyo, Amsterdam and Brussels) combining storytelling and body expression from Veiga’s environmental activism; often featuring projections and whale sounds.[36]

Film and moving image

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  • Atlantica (short, 2025). A poetic call to connect with and preserve the ocean; written/directed and performed by Veiga.[37]
  • Earth Layers (short, 2023). Experimental short by Veiga (camera/editing: Beto Bormann).[38]

Publications

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Barbara Veiga at the launch of Sete anos em sete mares (FNAC São Paulo, 2019)
  • Sete anos em sete mares (São Paulo: Seoman, 2019, ISBN 978-8555030875, 272 pp.). Memoir recounting seven years living and working aboard ships engaged in environmental campaigns with organisations such as Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace. Veiga narrates experiences across more than 80 countries, including campaigns in Antarctica, the Amazon and the South Pacific, encounters with pirates off Somalia, and time spent in solitary confinement after being detained during activist missions. The book combines personal travelogue, activist field diary and environmental testimony, encouraging readers to reflect on the urgency of ocean and climate protection.[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]
    • Reception:** Reviews praised the book’s vivid depiction of activist life and its immersive storytelling. Público (P3) highlighted Veiga’s ability to "bring readers on board with her adventures while stressing the urgent need for ocean conservation."[47] UOL Universa emphasized its "raw honesty and storytelling that combines danger, humor, and compassion in the face of global environmental challenges."[48] RTP described it as "a chronicle of courage and awareness that merges activism with personal transformation,"[49] while Diário de Notícias noted the book "cements Veiga’s position as one of Brazil’s most internationally active eco-artists."[50]

References

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  1. ^ Imagine5. "The ocean explorer who wants us to reconnect with nature". Imagine5. Retrieved 18 August 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Redação Universa (12 March 2019). "Piratas, prisão em solitária e traição da amiga: meus sete anos em alto-mar". UOL Universa (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Sete anos em sete mares — Bárbara escreveu um livro para nos fazer agir imediatamente". Público (P3) (in Portuguese). 14 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  4. ^ Tarasiuk, Karina (10 June 2020). "Três mulheres e um desafio: agir pela proteção do oceano sob a ótica feminina". Jornal da USP (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  5. ^ "Barbara Veiga – Speaker". Artist Key. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  6. ^ "Barbara Veiga: "Conhecemos mais a superfície da Lua do que o oceano. Luto para que esse cenário se possa transformar"". Trendy (in Portuguese). October 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Barbara Veiga — TEDxLisboa". TEDxLisboa (in Portuguese). 4 May 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  8. ^ "The Art of Hunting Whalers (photo: Barbara Veiga)". Sea Shepherd Australia. 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Sete Anos em Sete Mares". FNAC Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  10. ^ Sete Anos em Sete Mares (in Portuguese) (Portuguese ed.). ASIN 8555030870.
  11. ^ "Detonações, calor, escuridão: veja a rotina de operários em obra do metrô". G1 Globo (in Portuguese). 15 September 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Barbara Veiga Podcast". Apple Podcasts. 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  13. ^ "TEDx Lisboa talk – Barbara Veiga". YouTube (in Portuguese). 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Barbara Veiga — CreativeMornings profile". CreativeMornings. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  15. ^ "CreativeMornings talk by Barbara Veiga". YouTube (in Portuguese). 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  16. ^ "The ocean explorer who wants us to reconnect with nature". Imagine5. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  17. ^ "Bárbara Veiga: a ativista e fotógrafa que navegou pelos sete mares durante sete anos". NiT (in Portuguese). 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  18. ^ Tarasiuk, Karina (10 June 2020). "Três mulheres e um desafio: agir pela proteção do oceano sob a ótica feminina". Jornal da USP (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Histórico de gestão da Liga das Mulheres pelo Oceano". Mulheres pelo Oceano (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Elas fundaram a Liga das Mulheres pelos Oceanos". The Summer Hunter (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Surrender to Nature". Visit Lisboa. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Surrender to Nature – Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência". Museus da Universidade de Lisboa (in Portuguese). 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Surrender to Nature Performance". YouTube (in Portuguese). 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Barbara Veiga – Kind of Blue". AgendaLx (in Portuguese). 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  25. ^ "EARTH LAYERS by Barbara Veiga (video)". YouTube. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  26. ^ Lopes, Vanessa (30 June 2022). "Bárbara Veiga apresenta performance na Conferência dos Oceanos no Altice Arena". Gerador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  27. ^ "PERFORMANCE DA SEA WOMAN BARBARA VEIGA NO ÚLTIMO DIA DA CONFERÊNCIA DOS OCEANOS". Cultura de Borla (in Portuguese). 30 June 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  28. ^ "Bárbara Veiga vai fazer uma performance em prol dos oceanos". LuxWoman (in Portuguese). 30 June 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Ativista Bárbara Veiga luta contra a pesca ilegal e o mar de plásticos nos oceanos". RTP (in Portuguese). 1 July 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  30. ^ "NAVIGATING THROUGH ELEMENTS performance by Barbara Veiga". YouTube. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  31. ^ "Navigating Elements on Vimeo". Vimeo. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  32. ^ "Barbara Veiga — Mundo Insular". AgendaLx (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  33. ^ "Exposição "Mundo Insular" — Barbara Veiga". Viral Agenda (in Portuguese). 7 May 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  34. ^ "Bárbara Veiga: a ativista e fotógrafa que navegou pelos sete mares durante sete anos". NiT (in Portuguese). 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  35. ^ "WHAT I NEED performance by Barbara Veiga". YouTube (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  36. ^ "PERFORMANCE DA SEA WOMAN BARBARA VEIGA NO ÚLTIMO DIA DA CONFERÊNCIA DOS OCEANOS". Cultura de Borla (in Portuguese). 30 June 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  37. ^ "ATLANTICA by Barbara Veiga (video)". YouTube. 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  38. ^ "EARTH LAYERS by Barbara Veiga (video)". YouTube. 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  39. ^ Redação Universa (12 March 2019). "Piratas, prisão em solitária e traição da amiga: meus sete anos em alto-mar". UOL Universa (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  40. ^ "Sete anos em sete mares — Bárbara escreveu um livro para nos fazer agir imediatamente". Público (P3) (in Portuguese). 14 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  41. ^ "Sete Anos em Sete Mares". FNAC Portugal (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  42. ^ "Entrevista com Bárbara Veiga". RTP Arquivos (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  43. ^ "Entregou-se a causas em mais de 80 países e vai lançar livro em Lisboa". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  44. ^ ""Sou um grão no deserto de incertezas que estamos a viver no Brasil"". Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  45. ^ "Apresentação do livro "Sete anos em sete mares"". Porto Municipal (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  46. ^ "Sete Anos em Sete Mares – lançamento em Lisboa". YouTube (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  47. ^ "Sete anos em sete mares — Bárbara escreveu um livro para nos fazer agir imediatamente". Público (P3) (in Portuguese). 14 May 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  48. ^ Redação Universa (12 March 2019). "Piratas, prisão em solitária e traição da amiga: meus sete anos em alto-mar". UOL Universa (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  49. ^ "Entrevista com Bárbara Veiga". RTP Arquivos (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  50. ^ "Entregou-se a causas em mais de 80 países e vai lançar livro em Lisboa". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
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