Mariana Pestana
Mariana Pestana is a Lisbon-based architect, researcher and curator specialising in the field of contemporary design and architecture.
Pestana's work consists of cultural programmes including exhibitions, events, conferences, installations and publications. She is co-founder and director of The Decorators, an interdisciplinary studio that makes collaborative projects ranging from furniture to buildings, with the aim to expand notions of place, community and eating together.
She was the curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial titled Empathy Revisited: designs for more than one, 2020 to 2021. Previously, she curated exhibitions such as Eco-Visionaries, MAAT, Lisbon, Matadero, Madrid and Royal Academy, London, and The Future Starts Here, V&A, 2018.
Holding a PhD in architectural design from The Bartlett School of Architecture, Pestana lectured at Central Saint Martins, 2011 to 2014, and Chelsea College of Arts, 2012 to 2016, among other universities, and is currently an invited assistant professor at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon.
