Gloria Oyarzabal is a Spanish visual artist and photographer that diversifies her professional activity between cinema, photography and teaching; developing her projects in different countries of the African continent. Programmer and co-founder of the independent Cinema “La Enana Marrón” (Madrid, 1999-2009). Lived 3 years in Mali (2009-2012) developing her research in the construction of the African imaginary, processes of colonization/decolonization, new strategies of colonialism and the diverse voices around African feminisms. After her Master at Blankpaper School of Photography, her work is shown, among others, at FOTOFESTIWAL(Lodz,Pl), FORMAT(Derby, UK), ORGAN VIDA(Zagreb, Cr), KaunasFoto (Lith), PHE PhotoEspaña(Madrid, Sp), Athens Photo (Gr), LagosFoto (Nig), Museum of Photography Thessaloniki (Gr), SIPF Singapore International Photo Festival, Photo Marseille(Fr), Odessa Foto Days(Ukr), Biennale Für Aktuelle Fotografie (Mannheim, De), Helsinki Foto (Fin), Copenhague Photo (Den), FIFBH- Festival Internacional de Belo Horizonte (Br)….

She has published two photobooks: PICNOS TSHOMBÉ (Landskrona Photobook Award 2017,Sweden), and WOMAN GO NO’GREE (Vevey Images Photobook Award and APERTURE PARIS PHOTO Best Photobook of the Year 2020)

She was nominated to the Prix Elysée 2022-2024 (Switzerland) and the Foam Paul Huff Award (Netherlands); and awarded with Fotografía Europea Award 2022 (Reggia Emilia, Italy) Fotofestiwal Lodz Grand Prix 2019 (Poland), Encontros Da Imagem Discovery Award 2018 (Braga, Portugal) , PHOTOMED 1st Prize 2019, Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography PHOTO IS:RAEL 2019 (Tel Aviv, Israel), PhotoChronicles Portrait Award 2019,..among others.

In 2017 she’s artist-in-residence at Ranchito Matadero Nigeria/South Africa between Madrid and Art House Foundation Lagos (Nigeria) developing her research on the colonization of the concept of woman, embodied in the multiple award winning project ‘Woman Go No’Gree’. In 2022 she is invited by Gallerie 21 (Hamburg,De) for an artist residency, and at Fondazione Orestiadi (Sicily) where she started her ongoing project ‘Appunti per un’Orestiade Africana_a democracy in fatigue’. In 2024 she is selected as one of the 22 artists participating in the 3-year ‘CONTESTED DESIRES’ from Europa Creativa programme with residencies at the Nubuke Foundation (Accra, Ghana, November 2024), the Egizio Museum (Turin, Italy, July 2025) and Cyprus (September 2026).