Mara Alves is a London-based curator, cultural consultant, and arts advocate with over a decade of experience developing exhibitions, public programmes, and cultural partnerships across London and Europe.
Born and raised in Portugal, Mara's relationship with art began as a practitioner. She trained at AR.CO Centre of Art and Visual Communication in Lisbon (BA in Fine Arts), where she studied painting, drawing, art history, and art theory. This foundation continues to inform her curatorial sensibility and her instinctive understanding of the artist's creative process.
In 2010, she founded Art Has a Space (A Arte Tem Lugar), a gallery and art studio in Lisbon dedicated to arts education, community programming, and exhibition-making. Over nearly five years, she developed and delivered cultural programmes for students and the general public, mentored emerging fine arts students from the University of Fine Arts and AR.CO through portfolio development and professional practice, and curated annual exhibitions involving up to 60 participants.
She maintained a consistent base of over 100 students per month, guest artists to contribute to the public programme, and managed the full operations and finances of the studio, building a community-centred space where education, exhibition and cultural interaction operated under one roof.
Mara relocated to London in 2015 and immediately established herself within the city's contemporary art scene. As an art tutor at The Independent Art School, she delivered a structured drawing programme focused on observation, representation, and concentration. At the same time, she was appointed Chief Curator and Manager at D Contemporary Gallery (Mayfair, 2015-2017).
Over three years, she delivered 21 exhibitions, developed an artist roster of national and international talent, and helped build a collector and supporter network of over 8,000, adding over £80,000 in gallery sales, acquisitions, and fundraising collaborations.
Her work at D Contemporary demonstrated both curatorial breadth and a consistent commitment to inclusion and social impact. In October 2016, she co-projected "Dramatic Flesh" with Rodolfo Villaplana and Tamara Kvesitadze, presented by Galerie Kornfeld; in December 2016, she co-projected Inspiring Generations: "Art at Radley "Past and Present" at Radley College in aid of The Armed Forces Fund; in March 2017 she projected and co-curated "Lithuanian Art - Destination London", a group exhibition with 10 Lithuanian Artists in collaboration with British artist Barry Martin.
In May 2017, she co-projected "All Icons Are False" by Alexander James in aid of the Gynaecological Cancer Fund, timed to coincide with Chelsea Flower Week; in June 2017, she co-curated "Double Solo" with Cristina Troufa and Juan Domingues, in collaboration with Acervo Contemporary Art Gallery (PT); and a double solo exhibition with David Agenjo & Chibuike Uzoma, In collaboration with the CERA PROJECT.
In the summer of 2017, she produced one of her most significant early projects: "The Art of Being OUT", a landmark LGBTQ+ fundraising exhibition staged during London Pride week in collaboration with OUTstanding and in aid of Galop, the UK's LGBT+ anti-violence charity.
The Private View attracted over 300 guests, including UCL President and Provost Michael Arthur, the host for the silent auction opening, and senior figures from the arts and business communities, with the following guest speakers: Paul Reed, Executive Sponsor of the BP Pride Group UK; Ori Chandler, MD at OUTstanding; and Catherine Bewley on behalf of Galop. The exhibition, built around the themes of authenticity, equality, and inclusion, featured works by 12 artists, as well as daily performances and a silent auction to raise funds for Galop.
Also in 2015, Mara founded PortugArt, a curatorial project dedicated to showcasing the best emerging and mid-career Portuguese artists in London, developed in collaboration with Professor Dr Marcos Rizolli and supported by The Portuguese Embassy in the UK and Strategy International. The project culminated in a critically and commercially successful group exhibition of 20 artists at D Contemporary, introducing Portuguese contemporary art to senior figures from the London art world and UK business community, and serving as a career launchpad for several of its exhibiting artists.
From 2016 to 2022, Mara co-produced and co-curated the annual It's Art Call Art Prize with The Cult House, an international contemporary art prize and exhibition based in London, running across venues including D Contemporary Gallery, After Nyne Gallery, and The Truman Brewery. Across its editions, the prize identified and amplified some of the most exciting emerging voices in contemporary art, and Mara served as a judge throughout, overseeing the full cycle from open call and artist selection to curatorial display and public programming.
In 2017, she was invited as a guest speaker at the National and International Online Art Congress (CONNARTE/CONIARTE) (UK/Brazil), speaking on the subject of curatorial practice and mentoring: "Inside the universe of Curatorial/Mentoring for artistic projects: the balance between the artist and the mentor and the daily deliverance". That same year, she curated Art Salon Concilium at Notting Hill's Incognito Art Gallery - a series of sophisticated soirées held during Frieze Week 2017 - and spoke as Guest Speaker at Contemporary Balkan Art LLP's exhibition "Interruption" at Library St Martin's Lane, exploring the history and contemporary directions of Balkan art.
In 2019, she was appointed Head of Projects and Senior Curator at The Dragon Gallery, contributing to the gallery's participation in the Sussex Art Fair at Goodwood Racecourse and the prestigious START Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery in London.
In 2019, she also co-projected "1/3 MeelPress Portuguese Contemporary Artists" at Bermondsey Project Space, a group exhibition supported by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Portuguese Embassy in the UK, and Camões Institute.
In 2021, she curated "Paula Rego and Her Contemporaries" at Europe House and the 12 Star Gallery, developed alongside Paula Rego's retrospective at Tate Britain and produced in collaboration with The Portuguese Embassy in the UK, Europe House, and with sponsorship from Camões Institute IP. The exhibition featured 11 Paula Rego prints, including one shown publicly for the first time, selected by Mara in coordination with Cristea Roberts Gallery.
It highlighted Portuguese artists whose work responds to contemporary European challenges. Adapted in response to the pandemic, Mara developed digital materials and virtual tours to expand the project's audience reach. The programme included talks with Nina Pearlman, Katrin Sohns, Elena Crippa, Maria Manuel Lisboa, and Catarina Alfaro, and opened with a performance by harpist Frederica Vieira Campos.
Mara holds an MA in Art History, Curatorship and Renaissance Culture from the Warburg Institute, University of London (2020 - 2022), bringing rigorous scholarly grounding to her practice alongside its deep experiential roots. Her MA dissertation focused on drawing in the Portuguese School in the 16th century and on the theory and practices of drawing between Portugal and Italy. While her dissertation spans different eras and disciplines, a profound shared interest in the life of the artist and the intellectual weight of the creative process remains, as does an interest in how artists externalise complex ideas, experiences, and feelings throughout history.
Beyond the gallery, Mara brings distinctive skills in communications, digital engagement, and inclusive practice, developed in part through her professional experience at Starling Bank, where she has worked since 2019. In her current role in Enhanced Customer Care (Welfare Advisor), she advocates for customers with complex needs, combining empathy, clear communication, and a commitment to accessibility and financial inclusion. In August 2025, she was invited to serve as a guest speaker at Coforge, alongside the Head of Inclusion & Belonging at OVO Energy, for a panel discussion on LGBTQ+ inclusion and the creation of safe spaces in the workplace.
She is currently serving as Project Manager, Artist Liaison, and Co-curator, and as a volunteer with PrideWide (October 2025–present), advising on the charity's future cultural programme and guiding the preparation of curatorial proposals for prospective partners, collaborators, and donors. The first Pride Wide Art Exhibition and Auction, a project Mara is helping to shape, is currently in development and will take place at The Bomb Factory in London from 28 November to 1 December 2026.
Mara is multilingual, fluent in Portuguese and English, with a working knowledge of Italian, French, and Spanish, and brings an international perspective to all of her work. She is currently open to new collaborations and opportunities in curatorial practice, cultural programming, arts management, advisory roles and cultural and audience engagement roles in institutions, galleries, or arts organisations where culture, community, and EDI (equity, diversity, and inclusion) are at the heart of the work.