Carlota MATOS

About the artist

Carlota Matos (she / her) is a Portuguese theatre and performance artist working internationally with a focus on social change. Her practice addresses questions of identity, migration, and mental ill-health, in the form of documentary / experimental / participatory performances. She frequently collaborates with charities, artists from different disciplines, communities and people who are not necessarily trained or experienced performers. Carlota is the Facilitator for Firebird Theatre, a company of learning-disabled actors.

She is also a member of Migrants in Theatre, a movement to increase and improve migrant representation in UK theatre. Previous commissions include Projekt Europa and Counterpoints. In 2022, Carlota was awarded a DYCP grant from Arts Council England to scale up her work, explore creative access and research ethics in participatory arts. She developed and currently leads a project with migrant women in Bristol (UK) in partnership with the refugee charity Borderlands, which addresses language barriers and includes workshops, cultural trips, facilitation training, and the creation of A Taste of Belonging—a performative encounter that explores identity, gender roles, and food rituals across different cultures. Carlota’s project
POUR UNE VIE MEILLEURE, about Portuguese migration during the Salazar dictatorship, was selected for TalentLAB 2024 (Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg). She was recently in residency at O Rumo do Fumo in Lisbon developing a performance piece with her mother and MoYah, a hip-hop and afrofusion artist, delving into the personal, political and social impact of Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique.

Discover more about the artist’s project and presentation here: Carlota Matos