Brazilian researcher named finalist in Culture and Creativity Awards

An Essex curating graduate who spent three years archiving the life and work of renowned South American artist Tunga has been nominated for a Study UK Alumni Award.

Beatriz Neviani Coslovsky, who graduated from Essex in 2019 with a BA in Curatorial Studies, has made the finals of the British Council’s prestigious alumni awards in Brazil for her work researching and archiving one of the country’s leading contemporary artists.

It was at Essex that Beatriz’s long-standing interest in Brazilian art history deepened, a place also home to ESCALA, the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

Beatriz came to Essex from Brazil at just 19 years old and said that her time in the UK was “as terrifying as it was liberating”. Speaking about her three years at the University of Essex, she said: “I am proud of the solid relationships I made at Essex.”

“Living in the UK taught me grit. It taught me to network and to ally. It taught me perseverance, carefulness, respect. It taught me survival. And most importantly, it taught me about myself. I know that there is no other place where I would have had this experience, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

After graduating, Beatriz returned to Brazil and spent three years as the first researcher for Instituto Tunga, a foundation preserving the estate and legacy one of Brazil’s most prominent contemporary artists, Antonio José de Barros Carvalho e Mello Mourão, known around the world as Tunga.

The artist’s family opened the foundation following his death in 2016 with the hope of preserving his legacy and opening his works up to a global audience. Beatriz likens her time working as a research facilitator as constructing an “index for Tunga’s brain”.

During her time at the foundation, Beatriz was granted unprecedented access to the entire remaining works of the artist and successfully implemented a fully functioning and integrated database, meticulously cataloguing both the digital and physical archives.

One of Beatriz’s most significant achievements was cataloguing more than 100 sketchbooks, accompanying each with a detailed file to outline its contents by date, theme, and mentioned works.

Beatriz’s meticulous work laid the foundation for her involvement in the largest exhibition of Tunga's work since his death at the Itaú Cultural in São Paulo, where she became a recognised reference for research on his work.

After completing the initial cataloguing for the Instituto Tunga, Beatriz moved to A Gentil Carioca, one of Brazil’s most respected commercial galleries. There, she connects with young and emerging artists in the city, representing them and the gallery across the globe as an archivist and salesperson.

She said: "I am proud of myself for continuing to tread my own path in a challenging, often underestimated, and disvalued career segment like the Arts. In seeing and listening to other people's desires to join this universe, I have also had multiple opportunities to reinvent my own place in it. The greatest privilege of being an artist is to share my sensibilities and to open myself to others.” Beatriz recently moved on to new challenges, seeking a Masters in Fine Arts and continuing to engage directly with the cultural sector in her hometown of Rio de Janeiro.

The Study UK Alumni Awards, hosted by the British Council, celebrate the success of alumni and highlight the impact and value of higher education in the UK.

Winners and finalists have used their experience of studying in the UK to improve their subject fields, communities, professions and countries.

The ceremony in Brazil takes place on Wednesday 28 February 2024 and we wish Beatriz the best of luck.