“I'm Brazilian, I have four names, which is a common practice. So my first name is Flávia, then Iam Maria after my grandmother, Cunha, which is my mother's last name and Bastos, which is my father's last name.

So you see a child in there. I'm probably four or five years old. It's a black and white photograph, and it's in front of a window. The child in that photograph is me. Idon't remember where that was taken, in particular. Im wearing orthopedic boots, which were the bane of my existence. Ihad some orthopedic issues that could not be easily corrected. And the garment is really, also super special. It's a Little Red Riding Hood cape, and it was red. And it was crocheted by my mother. My mother's love and skill in making things by hand really informed my interest in art and in trying to bridge this more elitist way of thinking about art in everyday ways in which people can engage with aesthetic practice, and the combination of things of use and things of beauty, because I think art is both.

To think that I would grow up to be a professor, with a PhD from the United States and to build a career here, a successful career that has impact, and that has meaning to me, Iwould never have imagined that.

The journey of transplanted people, whether it's a voluntary or an imposed transplant, isn't an easy journey. We are very unsure of how we fit in, how we can contribute and whether or not we belong or if we belong temporarily or incidentally or accidentally or permanently. So I feel that when I'm at a loss, my roots and my ancestors guide me to find the strength and to find my deeply held values and to be true to myself, and Ithink it has worked.”