BOOKS | EXHIBITIONS | MEMORY

Watercolors, books and visual narratives about cities, heritage, memory and landscape.

Garage Atelier develops cultural projects that bring together art, architecture, research, heritage education and visual storytelling.

Through watercolor and hand drawing, Maria Gabriela Cherem Luft creates books, exhibitions, illustrated maps, artistic series, educational actions and memory projects dedicated to the appreciation of places and their stories.

Each project begins with an attentive look at the city: its landscapes, façades, historic buildings, paths, characters, affections and transformations. The result is a body of work that connects art and territory, creating sensitive and accessible records for different audiences.

Projects may be developed in partnership with cultural institutions, municipalities, foundations, companies, schools, libraries, museums, sponsors and initiatives related to culture, tourism, education and heritage.

AUTHORIAL BOOKS

Books illustrated in watercolor

The authorial publications by Maria Gabriela Cherem Luft, created through Garage Atelier, transform landscapes, cities, architecture and memories into books illustrated in watercolor.

Her first book, Mia Firenze, was published in Italy, inspired by the artist’s experience in Florence. Since then, her editorial work has brought together publications dedicated to Florianópolis, the coast of Santa Catarina, urban landscapes, cultural heritage and the affective relationship with places.

Among the published titles are illustrated books, bilingual works, publications on urban memory and also the coloring book Os Encantos de Floripa, which invites the public to take part in the artistic experience by coloring landscapes and symbols of the city.

Through watercolors, texts, maps, curiosities, drawings and visual narratives, the books invite readers to observe cities with greater attention, delicacy and sense of belonging — revealing façades, landscapes, stories and details that often go unnoticed in everyday life.

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Santa Catarina’s Enchanting Coastline
2025 · Florianópolis, SC

The book travels through the 29 coastal municipalities of Santa Catarina through more than 130 watercolors. The publication weaves together landscape, memory, identity, history, culture and curiosities, guiding the reader from the north to the south of the Santa Catarina coast. A book that invites readers to travel along the coast of Santa Catarina through watercolor. Bilingual book: Portuguese-English.

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A stroll around Florianópolis of yesterday and its surroundings
2024 · Florianópolis, SC

A watercolor book/catalogue dedicated to the listed buildings of the Greater Florianópolis Region, covering heritage properties protected at municipal, state and federal levels.

The work brings together paintings by Maria Gabriela Cherem Luft portraying historic buildings, urban ensembles and architectural fragments connected to the memory, culture and traditions of the region.

Selected by the Lei Paulo Gustavo LPG SC 2023 public call, the project also resulted in a watercolor exhibition, inviting the public to explore the history of Greater Florianópolis through its built heritage. Trilingual book: Portuguese-English-Spanish.

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Florianópolis from A to Z!
2023 · Florianópolis, SC

A watercolor book that presents Florianópolis through the letters of the alphabet, associating each letter with places, words, stories and symbols of the city. The proposal creates a light and affectionate reading of the capital of Santa Catarina, bringing together landscape, urban memory, architecture and local culture. A delicate way to explore Floripa from A to Z. Bilingual book: Portuguese-English.

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The charms of Floripa
2022 · Florianópolis, SC

A coloring book created for adults and children, with more than 70 drawings inspired by Florianópolis. The book invites the public to color elements of the city’s culture, history and architecture, including the Historic Center, Hercílio Luz Bridge, old houses, beaches, churches, local cuisine, bobbin lace, boi-de-mamão and pão-por-deus. Bilingual book: Portuguese-English.

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Floripa, you beautiful!
2018/2019 · Florianópolis, SC

A watercolor book dedicated to Florianópolis, Floripa, sua Linda! brings together landscapes, beaches, churches, monuments, fortresses, historic houses and details of the city known as the Magic Island.

The book was born as a visual tribute to the artist’s hometown, translating into watercolor places that are part of the memory, landscape and cultural identity of Florianópolis. Between affective records and historic heritage, the book invites readers to explore the island with greater attention, recognizing beauties, stories and transformations present in the city’s everyday life. Bilingual book: Portuguese-English.

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My Florence
2016 · Florence, Italy

The first book by Maria Gabriela Cherem Luft, published in Florence, Italy, during the period in which the artist lived in the city. The work brings together watercolors and sketches created from walks through the historic center, recording streets, squares, bridges, churches and details of the Florentine atmosphere. Bilingual book: Italian-English.

CULTURAL PROJECTS

Cultural Projects

Garage Atelier creates complete cultural projects, from the initial concept to final execution.

Proposals may include research, visual planning, watercolor production, texts, exhibition design, publications, illustrated maps, workshops, lectures, educational actions, exhibitions and graphic materials.

Each project is developed individually, respecting the identity of the territory, the goals of the institution and the audience to be reached.

Exhibitions

Garage Atelier’s exhibitions present watercolor series and visual narratives that value cities, architecture, landscapes and cultural heritage.

Exhibitions may be accompanied by books, catalogues, guided tours, lectures, workshops and educational actions, expanding the cultural and educational reach of each project.

Illustrated Maps and Visual Routes

Combining art, architecture and territory, Garage Atelier develops illustrated maps and visual routes that help tell the story of places, neighborhoods, cities and cultural landscapes.

These materials may be applied to tourism, education, editorial, museum and institutional projects.

Tailor-Made Projects

Municipalities, institutions, companies, schools, museums, libraries and sponsors may propose partnerships for the development of authorial cultural projects.

Garage Atelier works on the creation of visual and cultural proposals that combine beauty, research, memory and communication.

Cultural portfolio

Garage Atelier creates complete cultural projects, from the initial concept to final execution. Each proposal is developed individually, respecting the identity of the territory, the goals of the institution and the audience.

Projects may bring together research, visual planning, watercolors, texts, exhibition design, publications, illustrated maps, workshops, lectures, heritage education, exhibitions and graphic materials.

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A stroll around Florianópolis of yesterday and its surroundings – Listed Buildings in the Metropolitan Region of Florianópolis
Museu da Escola Catarinense – MESC UDESC · Florianópolis/SC

Cultural project selected by the Lei Paulo Gustavo LPG SC 2023 public call, bringing together a watercolor exhibition and the launch of a book/catalogue on listed buildings in the Metropolitan Region of Florianópolis. Curated by Meg Roussenq.

Through watercolor, the project portrays heritage assets protected at municipal, state and federal levels, inviting the public to explore the history, culture and memory of the region through its built heritage.

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Irmão Hercílio de Fáveri Exhibition Space
Florianópolis/SC

Creation and curatorship of the Irmão Hercílio de Fáveri Exhibition Space, in Florianópolis, developed to present the history of the Loja Maçônica Regeneração Catharinense through historical research, content organization, texts, images, documents and objects displayed to the public.

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Herbarium Architectonicum
ACAP Collective Exhibition — Associação Catarinense de Artistas Plásticos · Galeria Municipal de Arte Pedro Paulo Vecchietti · Florianópolis/SC

Herbarium Architectonicum is a series of 12 watercolors created by Gabriela Luft based on the observation of architectural ornaments in Florianópolis.

Inspired by the concept of a herbarium, the work proposes a poetic shift: treating façade details, arabesques, sculpted flowers, iron lacework and ornamental elements as rare species to be recorded, classified and preserved.

Each watercolor is presented as a herbarium plate, accompanied by an invented scientific name, a brief description and the location of the architectural element portrayed. The series invites the public to look at the city with greater attention, perceiving fragments of memory, culture and urban identity in the details of architecture. Curated by Meg Tomio Roussenq and Anna Moraes.

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Lumiar Project Map
Pomerode and Jaraguá do Sul/SC

Creation and realization of the Artistic-Cultural Map for the Route of the Lumiar Project, highlighting the cultural assets of the rural areas of Testo Alto, in Pomerode/SC and Rio da Luz in Jaraguá do Sul/SC. You can watch some of the videos that show the making-of of the watercolors.

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Audioguide: 270 Years of Azorean Presence on the 10th Island of the Azores
Florianópolis/SC

Cultural audioguide project developed to celebrate the 270th anniversary of the arrival of the Azoreans in Santa Catarina, highlighting the influence of this cultural heritage in shaping the identity of Florianópolis and the Island of Santa Catarina.

The route brings together 53 attractions related to Azorean-based culture, organized around themes such as architecture, mills, fishing ranches, whaling stations, religious festivities, popular traditions, handicrafts, gastronomy and cultural manifestations.

Selected by the 2018 Cultural Support Public Call of the Municipal Culture Fund of the Municipality of Florianópolis, the project was produced, researched and coordinated by Maria Gabriela Cherem Luft. The audioguide was made available free of charge through the izi.TRAVEL app, with text, audio and images in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

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Audioguide – Historic Center
Laguna/SC

Laguna – Centro Histórico audio guide is part of the project “Museu a Céu Aberto” in Laguna/SC. The project creates a visitation route with information and signage plaques on the set of houses in the historic center, and now is complemented by this audio guide. To download it, access the “Izi.Travel” app and search for Laguna – Centro Histórico. The audio guide was produced by Garage Atelier in partnership with Vanguarda Patrimônio Cultural, Iphan and Sebrae, through the Right Whale Route.

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Museu Histórico de Santa Catarina Audioguide – Palácio Cruz e Sousa
Florianópolis/SC

Audioguide project developed by Garage Atelier in collaboration with the educational department of the Museu Histórico de Santa Catarina, located in the Palácio Cruz e Sousa, in Florianópolis.

The Top 10 Tour of the Historical Museum proposes a route through ten works considered essential to the museum, guiding visitors through part of its collection, its history and its exhibition spaces.

Available free of charge to the public in five languages — Portuguese, Spanish, English, French and Italian — the audioguide broadens access to information, enhances the visitor experience and contributes to cultural mediation within the museum.

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Nossa Senhora do Desterro Cathedral Audioguide
Florianópolis/SC

Cultural audioguide project developed by Garage Atelier for the Metropolitan Cathedral of Florianópolis, dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Desterro.

The proposal presents a route for visitation and contemplation through 18 points of the Cathedral, including altars, chapels, the chancel arch, sculptures, stained-glass windows and other historical, artistic and architectural elements of the building.

With texts, audio, photographs and maps, the audioguide brings the public closer to the history of the Cathedral and to its relationship with the religious and urban memory of Florianópolis. The content was made available free of charge through the izi.TRAVEL app in four languages: Portuguese, English, French and Spanish.

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Tubarão Railway Museum Audioguide
Tubarão/SC

The audio guide Museu Ferroviário de Tubarão creates a visitation itinerary through a collection of steam locomotives that are part of the national railway heritage. It emphasizes the history of Dona Tereza Cristina Railroad and how society developed in the south of Santa Catarina with the installation of the railway lines. To download the guide, access the “Izi.Travel” app and search for Tubarão Railway Museum. The audio guide was created by Garage Atelier as part of the Museum’s Communication and Signaling Project developed by Sebrae/SC, Tubarão Railway Museum and Tubarão City Hall.

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Esquenta-Orelhas
São João Batista/SC

Curatorship, Layout, Visual Identity and Audio Guide for the re-creation of an ‘Esquenta-Orelha’ (old shoe factory) installed in a container. Project ‘Identification of Master Craftsmen & Traditional Knowledge of São João Batista/SC’. Elisabeth Anderle Award 2019.

PARTNERSHIPS

Shall we create a cultural project together?

Municipalities, institutions, companies, schools, museums, libraries and sponsors may propose partnerships for the development of authorial cultural projects.

Garage Atelier works on the creation of visual and cultural proposals that combine beauty, research, memory and communication.