Bia’s performance is presented as a part of AFI’s BEAUTIFUL FORMS: QUEER ART UNBOUND, a three day arts festival dedicated to the celebration of the extraordinary queer artists and fierce allies who are fundamental to the fight for artistic freedom worldwide. It honors the many diverse and beautiful forms queer identities, art, and allyship can take and champions the rights to create, move, live, and love freely – unbound and without fear.
As a singer, songwriter, anti-racist activist, and fierce defender of the LGBTQIAP+ community worldwide, Bia Ferreira defines her music as MMP: Música de Mulher Preta (Black Woman Music). Bia broke into public consciousness in 2017 with the track, Cota Não é Esmola, which highlights the importance of the Quota System for Brazil’s Black population who want to attend university. In addition to the 13 million views on YouTube and several million Spotify plays, the song became a mandatory reading for the University of Brasília entrance exam.
Bia was nominated for the 2018 Women in Music Awards, and on her 2019 album, Igreja Lesbiteriana: Um Chamado, (Lesbitarian Church: A Calling), the music takes shape through a series of funky beats, reggae, and soul ballad grooves. In November 2022, Bia released her new album called ´Faminta.´ Bia leverages the messages within her music as a weapon against misinformation and the hostile environment for queer folx and Brazil’s Black population. Bia recently made her U.S. performance debut in August 2023 at globalFEST at Lincoln Center and was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Meets globalFEST in January 2023. Since the beginning of her career, Bia has been one of the most ardent defenders of free speech in Brazil, mainly focusing on racism and the LGBTQIAP+ community. Through Bia’s songs, she challenges listeners to generate “movemente,” calling us to action alongside her. Don’t miss this, NYC!
BEAUTIFUL FORMS: QUEER ART UNBOUND is made possible with support from the SDK Foundation for Human Dignity, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
