Luís Damião

Luís Gabriel Damião was born in Luanda in 1978 into a family with strong artistic roots. Son of Angolan photographer and photojournalist Paulino Damião, also known as Kota 50, and brother of artist Lino Damião, Luís Damião's passion for cameras, brushes, spatulas, paints and canvases did not differ. He became involved in the world of art and culture from an early age as a self-taught artist, taking his first steps into the world of photography at the instigation of his father Paulino Damião. At a young age and under the inspiration of his brother Lino Damião, who used to go to the studio of the renowned and late artist Victor Teixeira (Viteix), he attended a fine arts course organised by the Swedish Embassy in Angola.

In 2002, he presented himself publicly for the first time through a collective artistic project called "Art & Fashion", organised by Espaço Cultural Elinga. Since then, he has never stopped producing and collaborating on projects with organisations linked to culture.

2021
As part of the AKAA - Art & Design art fair in Paris, the book "À rebrousse-temps" was launched, with an essay on his artistic production, produced by the curator Dénètem Touam.

2020
"Coronavirus" was awarded the special photography prize and the Alliance Française - ENSA ARTE 2020 prize in Luanda.

2019
Group exhibition "Intersections - Within The Global South" at Galeria Banco Económico; Solo exhibition at THIS IS NOT A WHITE CUBE gallery in Luanda; Participation in the "Rencontres de Bamako" in Mali.

2014
Ex-Por-Arte project at Espaço Cultural Elinga, in which he participated with photographs.

2013
Exhibition by the young artists' collective Kapela Workshop and in the "Summer Colours" project, both presented at Espaço Cultural Elinga.

2012
Participation in the set design for the soap opera "Windeck" on TPA 2; Besa Photo Competition; Production and photography assistant on the film "No trilho do naturalista", by Terra Treme; First solo photography exhibition entitled "Mulheres do Cotidiano" at UNAP's Galeria De Maio. Participation in the book launch of the Fernando Távora Prize 2012, organised by the Northern Regional Section of the Portuguese Architects' Association.

2002
Collective art project called "Arte & Moda", held at Espaço Cultural Elinga; Collaboration with Jornal de Angola on its "people" page, with the Cultural Journal of Edições Novembro and with the Angolan airline's in-flight magazine "Austral".