Lia Delgado

Who is the artist behind Lia Delgado Visual Artist?

I was born with Cape Verdean roots and grew up between two worlds, always trying to understand where I

belong. My earliest inspirations came from oral traditions, music, and the colors that carry the memory of the islands. These references grew stronger through experiences outside Cape Verde, shaping a hybrid identity. I am an artist because I can’t translate who I am in any other way but through creation.

My work moves between painting, installation, and drawing, but it also absorbs materials I encounter along the way. I am drawn to raw gestures and imperfection as marks of authenticity. My visual signature is built on contrasts: fragile-looking lines that nevertheless carry the weight of larger stories.

How has your creative journey been so far?

It started as an intimate, almost daily process of emotional survival. Over time, it became a more deliberate artistic path, marked by obvious challenges: balancing practical life with the need to create, facing the invisibility of those coming from peripheral contexts, and refusing pre-defined frameworks. Every choice I made was a way to claim my place without abandoning my roots.

What are your goals, current reach, and dreams as an artist?

In the short term, I want to consolidate a visual language that feels both recognizable and accessible to different audiences. In the long term, I dream of exhibiting more in Cape Verde and African spaces, while also placing these narratives in global dialogues. The community I most want to reach is the one that longs to see its story told with dignity and sensitivity.

What values permeate your work, and how do you perceive your art within Cape Verdean identity and African heritage?

My work is grounded in memory, resilience, and belonging. I seek to give voice to narratives that are often left aside. Within Cape Verdean and African identity, I see my art as a meeting point: between past and future, tradition and reinvention, inherited pain and the strength to move forward. It’s in this dialogue with ancestry that I find meaning.

Who is the artist behind Lia Delgado Visual Artist?

I was born with Cape Verdean roots and grew up between two worlds, always trying to understand where I belong. My earliest inspirations came from oral traditions, music, and the colors that carry the memory of the islands. These references grew stronger through experiences outside Cape Verde, shaping a hybrid identity. I am an artist because I can’t translate who I am in any other way but through creation.

How do you present yourself artistically?

My work moves between painting, installation, and drawing, but it also absorbs materials I encounter along the way. I am drawn to raw gestures and imperfection as marks of authenticity. My visual signature is built on contrasts: fragile-looking lines that nevertheless carry the weight of larger stories.

How has your creative journey been so far?

It started as an intimate, almost daily process of emotional survival. Over time, it became a more deliberate artistic path, marked by obvious challenges: balancing practical life with the need to create, facing the invisibility of those coming from peripheral contexts, and refusing pre-defined frameworks. Every choice I made was a way to claim my place without abandoning my roots.

What are your goals, current reach, and dreams as an artist?

In the short term, I want to consolidate a visual language that feels both recognizable and accessible to different audiences. In the long term, I dream of exhibiting more in Cape Verde and African spaces, while also placing these narratives in global dialogues. The community I most want to reach is the one that longs to see its story told with dignity and sensitivity.

What values permeate your work, and how do you perceive your art within Cape Verdean identity and African heritage?

My work is grounded in memory, resilience, and belonging. I seek to give voice to narratives that are often left aside. Within Cape Verdean and African identity, I see my art as a meeting point: between past and future, tradition and reinvention, inherited pain and the strength to move forward. It’s in this dialogue with ancestry that I find meaning.