Gabriella Rebello Kolandra: curating the Global South as a critical category

Gabriella Rebello Kolandra (born 1993, Brazil) is a curator based in Milan whose practice navigates geographical, linguistic, and disciplinary borders. Trained in architecture and urbanism at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and IUAV Venice, she moved to Milan in 2019 after receiving a scholarship to NABA. From 2021 to 2025, she collaborated with Fondazione ICA Milano, co-curating 'Whose is this?' with Chiara Nuzzi. In 2025, she curated Platea's annual program in Lodi, titled 'Nine out of ten movie stars make me cry' (from Caetano Veloso's 1972 song), featuring emerging artists Ulyana Nevzorova, Rebeca Pak, Vashish Soobah, and Marvin Gabriele Nwachukwu. In 2026, she won the Premio Meridiana for curators under 45 at Museo Madre in Naples, presenting 'Santa do pau oco' with artists Clarissa Baldassarri, Maria Luce Cacciaguerra, and Anna Maria Maiolino. The exhibition title references a Brazilian colonial smuggling term, exploring the Global South as a critical lens connecting the Mediterranean and Latin America. Kolandra's approach prioritizes process, relationality, and friction over market validation.