Rafael Raposo Pires (b.1994), is a Portuguese visual artist whose body of work consists on photographs and video-performances produced while experiencing dérives made on diverse urban areas. His practice questions the notions of limits within constructed landscapes and how transformative architecture can be.

In 2025 Rafael was selected for the artistic residency LAAR Lisbon/Budapest. His work was recently selected for the publication Portuguese Emerging Art 2024, and he has participated in the European artistic residency Project SEEDS (2023-2024). In 2023 he has received a mobility grant from the Culture Moves Europe programme, and has exhibited at the KORA Contemporary Art Center in Italy. In 2022 he was selected for the Bienal de Fotografia de Vila Franca de Xira in Portugal, and took part in the artist residencies AiR_Cachopo (PT) and Default 22 (IT).

Rafael has co-founded Estúdio Atilho, a multidisciplinary atelier based in Lisbon, where he has edited the Wanderings zine in 2025 in collaboration with the designer Mariana Ferreira. In 2024 the atelier has hosted the exhibition The ‘Kitchen’ Show, curated by Diogo E.S. Dietl and Drowning Room.

He holds a post-graduation in Multimedia Art (2020) and another in Contemporary Photography Speeches (2018) by the Faculty of Fine Arts In Lisbon. He has a BA in Photography and Visual Culture (2017) from IADE University in Lisbon, and enrolled at University of Europe in Berlin where he has published the photobook Alone Together (2017) under the mentorship of Michael Danner.

His works are present in private collections in Portugal, Italy and Belgium. Since 2018 he has been exhibiting regularly in Portugal, Italy and Germany.

Education
Post Graduation in Multimedia Art (Moving Image) at Faculdade de Belas-Artes in Lisbon (2019-20)
Post Graduation of Contemporary Photography Speeches at Faculdade de Belas-Artes in Lisbon (2017-18)
Exchange semester at BTK – University of Art & Design in Berlin (2016-17)
Bachelor in Photography and Visual Culture at IADE – Creative University in Lisbon (2014-17)

Grant
Culture Moves Europe – Funded by the European Union (2023)

Art Residencies
2025
People and Rural Identities – Teatro Ebasko, Italy (August 2025)
Artistic Residency Lisboa/Budapest – LAAR (PT), Budapest Gallery (HU) (June 2025)

2023/2024
SEEDS – Oficinas do Convento (PT), Quinta das Relvas (PT), Chorus (GR), Rural Contemporánea (ES) (September 2023 – May 2024)

2022
DEFAULT 22 – RAMDOM Association, at KORA Contemporary Art Center, Castrignano de’Greci, Italy (June 2022)
AiR_Cachopo – POUSIO Arte e Cultura, Cachopo, Portugal (April – May 2022)

Solo Exhibitions
2025
Over Crest – Budapest Gallery, Budapest (HU)

2022
CAMINHAR LIMITES – Câmara Escura Gallery, Cooperativa Comunicação e Cultura in Torres Vedras (PT)

2019
ESPACIALIDADES DE UM PERCURSO – Galeria Banco das Artes, Leiria (PT)

Group Exhibitions
2025
Solúvel ao Ar – Estúdio Atilho, Lisbon (PT)
Montanha Invisível – Estúdio Atilho, Lisbon (PT)

2024
CERES | 5 Anos da POUSIO – Palácio dos Arcebispos, Loures (PT)
The ‘Kitchen’ Show – Estúdio Atilho, Lisbon (PT)
Third Life – Casa Dona Laura, Lisbon (PT)
Project SEEDS – Galeria FBAUL, Lisbon (PT)
Feira – Rural Contemporánea, Monfero (ES)
Urban Museum of Elefsina – Chorus Greece, Elefsina (GR)

2023
Centro Mutável – Galeria Municipal, Montemor-o-Novo (PT)
Sol de pouca dura – Oficinas do Convento, Montemor-o-Novo (PT)
Drowning Room Art Fair – Cosmos Campolide, Lisboa (PT)
Secar roupa á chuva – VIARCO, São João da Madeira (PT)
FUSO Video Art Festival – MAAT Museum, Lisbon (PT)
Onde está o erro? – Galeria Campo Pequeno, Lisbon (PT)
Centrale Festival – Rocca Malatestiana, Fano (IT)
Parla del tuo Villaggio – KORA Contemporary Art Center, Castrignano de’Greci (IT)
Prémio de Fotografia de Sintra – Museu das Artes de Sintra, Sintra (PT)
Aveiro Jovem Criador – Museu de Aveiro | Santa Joana, Aveiro (PT)
Jardim de Cera – Galeria Diferença, Lisbon (PT)

2022
Mostra Nacional de Arte Jovem – Centro Cultural, Almada (PT)
Bienal de Fotografia VFX 22 – Celeiro da Patriarcal, Vila Franca de Xira (PT)
By Invitation Only – Passevite Gallery, Lisbon (PT)

2021
Hammer Time – Zaratan Gallery, Lisbon (PT)
REA Art Fair – Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan (IT)
Lisboa Capital Verde – Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes, Lisbon (PT)
ART MATTERS 3 – Galerie Biesenbach, Cologne (DE)
GENESIS – The Holy Art Virtual Gallery, London (UK)

2020
Auf der Laub – Studio Huette, Berlin (DE)

2019
MOMENTUM | InShadow Festival – Cisterna FBAUL, Lisbon (PT)
GRAU DE SEMELHANÇA – MUTE Gallery, Lisbon (PT)

2018
9ª Feira do Livro de Fotografia – Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa (PT)
O LONGE E AS IMAGENS | FBAUL 18 – 5D Creative Hub, Lisbon (PT)
X’17 – MUTE Gallery, Lisbon (PT)

Publications
Wanderings  – zine, Estúdio Atilho, Lisboa (January 2025)
Portuguese Emerging Art 2024  – EMERGE, Lisboa (November 2024)
Project SEEDS  – catalogue and toolkit, Lisboa (May 2024)
Bienal de Fotografia de Vila Franca de Xira 2022 – catalogue, VFX (December 2023)
Gazzetta Tabaco nº 3 – magazine, Lisboa (June 2023)
Mostra Nacional de Jovens Criadores 2022 – catalogue, Lisboa (December 2022)
REA Art Fair 2021 – catalogue, Milan (September 2021)
PEP #3 ‘Public Space’ Magazine – PEP, Berlin (November 2019)
CONTRAST Magazine – Scopio Editions, Porto (May 2019)
O Longe e as Imagens – catalogue, FBAUL, Lisboa (October 2018)
Cisterna Número 4 – AEFBAUL, Lisboa (June 2018)
NOVA Fotografia 2014_2018 – Universidade NOVA, Lisboa (June 2018)
Cisterna Número 3 – AEFBAUL, Lisboa (February 2018)
Alone Together – Self Published Photobook, Berlin (January 2017)

Awards
Selected for Bienal de Fotografia de Vila Franca de Xira 2022

Interview
Reportage about AiR_Cachopo – aired on RTP2 (19 of June of 2022) – online at RTP PLAY

Lectures / Workshops
Babylon Revisited – Walkshop in collaboration with Vicky Vasileiou, during the International Prespa Walking Arts Encounters, in Prespa Greece (July 2025)
Learning Lab at TUMO Tirana ‘Photography, from walking dérives to photo zines‘ (July 2025)
Learning Lab at TUMO Lisboa ‘Photography for Cultural Institutions‘ (July 2025)
Learning Lab at TUMO Berlin ‘Photography, from walking dérives to photo zines‘ (August 2024)
Photography Workshop Leader at TUMO Portugal – Center for creative technologies (since 2023)
Invited artist by José Luis Neto to present occasional lectures at FBAUL and IADE (2019-2021)
9ª Feira do Livro de Fotografia – Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa (November 2018)

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E-mail:   rafaelpiresphoto@gmail.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/raposopires/