Maria Teresa Braga Bizarria, PhD

Researcher;

Working with feminist and decolonial approaches, I explore the intersections of gender, racial and environmental justice.

Artivist;

Flowing with life, I collaborate with collectives and ephemeral groups to raise awareness and promote the rights of women, ethnic minorities and nature.

Gardener;

Growing with plants, I reconect and benefit from the healing power of nature.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Braga Bizarria, M. T. (2025). Reassessing (en)gendered responsibilities for care through community gardening in Aotearoa New Zealand. Gender, Place & Culture. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2025.2541173

Braga Bizarria, M. T., Palomino‐Schalscha, M., Sánchez Bolívar, I. (2024). The spatiality of Collective Autoethnography: Praxis of care and (co)becoming. Emotion, Space and Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2024.101043

Braga Bizarria, M. T. (2023). Affective atmospheres of care in community gardens: Women’s embodied practices of (co)becoming in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand [Doctoral thesis]. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.23823114

Braga Bizarria, M. T., Palomino‐Schalscha, M., & Stupples, P. (2022). Community gardens as feminist spaces: A more‐than‐gendered approach to their transformative potential. Geography Compass. https://doi.org/10.1111/gec3.12608

Check out on my projects

SELECTED PAINTINGS

Check out on my artwork

LATEST POSTS

The quiet and symbolic power of the margins

Today is already the second day of the civil New Year of 2026. In general, life seems calm. In the Northern Hemisphere, I watch the grains of frost slowly melting under the light of a low, comforting sun. The flow of cars and lorries along the avenue is still light, and children are still on their school holidays. The almost full moon invites reflection on what I choose to nurture over the next 15 days, echoing the ‘New Year’s resolutions’ I have made. In contrast to 2025 — w

Maria Teresa

Jan 33 min read

[YES-IGU] Learning Through Care: The inspiring voices behind YES! Loud and Clear

[Post originally written for the YES! Gender website ] The YES! Steering Committee is excited to share the launch - and recording - of new episodes of YES! Loud and Clear , our podcast dedicated to conversations in feminist geographies. This achievement feels especially meaningful because it is rooted in something that often sustains academic and activist work but is not always visible: network, care, and generosity. These episodes are shaped by the incredible mentors and col

Maria Teresa

Nov 15, 20252 min read

The falling sky [and the refusal to see]

Suddenly the sky, my favourite part of this landscape, turned grey. Not because of the pollution (maybe a bit more now), but because of the persistent presence of military planes that fly a route to I don’t know where every single day. Several times a day. In one week, the [envrionmental] sadness that I have been able to mange well for the past years turned into a dam that cannot hold the water anymore. The strict policies against migrants and refugees worldwide, the irrespon

Maria Teresa

Feb 21, 20252 min read

Let’s Connect

If you want to know more about my research interests, work, or collabs, get in touch. I welcome messages in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French and Dutch.