Born in Oporto, Portugal, Leonor Alvim started her musical career at an early age and obtained her graduation from the Conservatory of Music with a BA in Piano. After several years of intensive musical activity as a pianist, she interrupted her career in order to devote herself to the Visual Arts. She returned to study at A.R.C.O. (Center for Arts and Communication) in Lisbon, Portugal, where her work has been exhibited on various occasions.
From 1979 to 1989 she lived in Brazil where she was extremely active in both music and arts. Musically she devoted herself to teaching in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. She participated in many musical events and concerts as a soloist and as an accompanist for orchestras and choral groups in Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and the capital, Brasilia. She played in chamber music concerts and was a co-founder of the Youth Orchestra of the State of Minas Gerais. She performed in the International Musical Courses in Brasilia and in several events including the Festivais de Música Nova (New Music Festivals) and in various competitions. She continually pursued advanced studies of musical form and technique.
Upon her arrival in Brazil, Leonor Alvim developed her new plastic language “Panos Collage” which she exhibited in Sao Paulo in 1977 in the Galeria Portal. This successful exhibit was followed by many others both in Brazil and later in Portugal. Her works are now part of private and public collections, nationally and internationally. She is mentioned in the Dicionário dos Escultores e Pintores Portugueses de Fernando Pamplona (Fernando Pamplona’s Dictionary of Portuguese Sculptors and Painters). She remains involved with, and is still researching the emerging cultures of Brazil (African, South-American and Asian) which, in conjunction with her own European background is the cornerstone for her “visual language” and teaching methods.
Since returning to Portugal in 1989, she has occupied the Piano Chair in Lisbon’s Music School, as well as serving as the Dance School of the Lisbon National Conservatory of Music. In 1992 she was invited to teach at the Musical Conservatory of the Leiria Orpheon, in 1993 in the Linda-a-Velha School of Music and in 1997 in the Setubal Regional Conservatory. As the founder and coordinator for the Global Art Project (Colour, Sound & Movement) she invited renowned Portuguese artists of two musical areas (instrumental and choral) to collaborate in the project to bring their complementary skills.
In the Summer of 1997 she was invited to Brazil by the Art Conservatory of the State of Minas Gerais and the State Conservatory of Pouso Alegre, where she lectured for teachers and students, from the perspective of her sound, colour and movement work.
In 2002 Leonor moved to Brazil to enroll in a Masters Degree program where she developed her project Colour, Sound and Movement.
Leonor Alvim
EXHIBITIONS
USA
2011 – Newark, Centro Desportivo Português – Launching of the book Palavras Soltas e Audio-Visual (Loose Words and Audiovisual). Presentation of the Colour, Sound and Movement project.
2007 – Smith Parade Gallery, Georgetown, Washington DC – Auction RemArt 2007 – Contemporary art by American, Spanish and Portuguese artists.
2006 – Katzen Cultural Center, Washington DC;
– Embassy of Venezuela, Washington DC;
– Solo exhibition at Shenandoah University, Leesburg, Virginia.
2004 – Three Generations of Art , Plano Municipal Center, Plano, Texas.
2001 – Solo exhibition at the Sharon Art Center , Collonade Gallery in Peterborough, NH
2000 – Invited artist to exhibit in the Image Gallery at the Nashua Public Library.
PORTUGAL
2011 – Centro Cultural Regional de Santarem, exhibition and launching of the book Palavras Soltas e Audio-Visual (Loose Words book and Audiovisual). Presentation of her students works on the same theme, Santarém.
2010 – Centro Cultural Regional de Santarem, Geishas exhibition, Santarem.
2008 – Casa Museu Medeiros e Almeira, Geishas exhibition, Lisbon.
1997 – Colour, Sound and Movement exhibition in the cloisters of the Lisbon National Conservatory with the participation of choral groups directed by conductors Paulo Brandao and Joao Crisostomo.
1996 – Collective exhibition at the Galeria Teatro Municipal, Constância, Ribatejo – together with Nuno de Siqueira and Guilherme Parente.
1986 – Sole artist to present the Orixas exhibition at the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.
1985 – Bronze medal at a Modern Art Collective Show, Lisbon;
– Sole artist at A.R.C.O. (Center for Arts and Communication), Lisbon;
– Sole artist at Casa Tait, Oporto;
– Sole artist and the main Theatre of Madeira Island.
1973 – Collective Spring Show, Estoril.
BRAZIL
2010 – State Conservatory of Music – Palavras Soltas project – exhibition, music, singing and poetry reading, Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais;
– Sergio Fingerman Cultural Center – exhibition and launching of the book Palavras Soltas, Sao Paulo.
2009 – Sergio Fingerman Cultural Center – Geishas exhibition, Sao Paulo;
– University Theatre of Ribeirão Preto – Geishas exhibition, Sao Paulo.
2006 – Sophia gallery – Music, Photography, Visual Arts, Sao Paulo.
2001 – Colour, Sound and Movement – The Four Seasons (project integrating music, dance and solo exhibition), Mackenzie University, Sao Paulo.
1992 – Invited artist at the Global Art Symposium, University of Sao Paulo
1985 – Sole artist at Pouso Alegre State Conservatory, Minas Gerais.
1985 – Lecture and exhibition The Orixas – guest artist in the University of Sao Paulo
1984 – Sole artist at the Brasilia Cultural Foundation – exhibition sponsored by the Portuguese Embassy, Brasilia.
1984 – Sole artist in the Guarulhos Cultural Center, Sao Paulo;
– Sole artist at Pinacoteca do Estado, Sao Paulo.
1983 – Collective show “Encontros da Cultura Portuguesa” at SESC Pompeia, Sao Paulo.
1982 – Participation in the Art Week, Mackenzie University, Sao Paulo;
– Individual exhibition at the Portuguese Embassy, Brasilia.
1980 – Distinguished Merit Award at a collective show in the Salao Camoniano, Sao Paulo;
– Collective Art Show, Sao Paulo.
1979 – Sole artist at Itau Gallery, Ribeirao Preto;
– Sole artist at UNAERP (week of communication and arts).
1978 – Sole artist at Palacio Buriti, Brasilia.
1977 – Sole artist at Galeria Portal, Sao Paulo.
“O mar que nos une, o mar que nos separa”
(Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Washington DC - USA)
