Sofia Vieira is a cultural manager and researcher from Lisbon, living in Rotterdam. At the core of her practice lies a profound commitment to fostering collaboration and sharing knowledge within and across cultural communities. Her projects take the shape of workshops, publications, and interactive performances and exhibitions, endeavouring to cement art’s role as a productive, dialogical force within our societies and ecosystems.

Sofia also investigates the structures affecting cultural workers and creative choices, with a focus on the interplay of austerity politics and professionalisation processes, purported by cultural neoliberal policies. She actively advocates for artists’ right to dignified pay, stable working conditions, and artistic freedom, sharing her research findings through articles, talks, and publications, to foster awareness and impact the narrative on these crucial issues.

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GET IN TOUCH WITH SOFIA:

sofia.alvi@gmail.com

Sofia’s Instagram:@soffmaria

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TIMESTAMPS:

(01:06) Sofia Introducing Herself

(05:37) Researching the Funding System and Industry

(11:47) How Funding Can Restrain Your Autonomy

(17:46) Funding Policies and the Value of Art in Other Domains of Human Activities

(24:33) What To Do About the Precarity of the Artist

(29:44) How Status Influences the Way the Public Consumes and Spends on Art

(33:01) Practical Advice on Sustaining Your Practice

(35:55) The Shortcomings of Artists’ Passion and Cultural Entrepreneurship

(39:52) The Culture of Creation: Publicly and Privately Funded Art 

(44:41) Creating Structures That Support and Enable Artists

(47:29) Competition and Empathy