São Paulo – Brazilian artist and olfactory researcher Karola Braga was one of the winners of this year’s 11th Art and Olfaction Awards 2025, granted by the Institute for Art and Olfaction in California, United States. The award ceremony took place in Los Angeles on May 29 and recognized the work Sfumato in the Experimental category. Sfumato was presented by Braga at the Desert X exhibition in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, in early 2024.
“Just being among the finalists made me feel honored, but of course, being there, you always have some expectation [of winning],” the artist told ANBA on Tuesday (10). It had been there, in Los Angeles in 2023, that the opportunity arose for Braga to take her research and art to Saudi Arabia.
She was also a finalist for that year’s award with a work created for the Mercosur Biennial. Although she didn’t win, she had the opportunity to meet one of the Desert X curators, Brazilian Marcello Dantas. It was during a conversation with Dantas that she proposed to “perfume the Saudi desert” at Desert X.
For the exhibition, Braga created a “giant” incense burner with symbolic fragrances from a region known as part of the incense route between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Among the scents released into the air were myrrh and frankincense.
The awards also recognized artists and perfumers in categories such as Artisan Perfume, Independent Perfume, and Emerging Artist, among others, with winners from Thailand, Taiwan, the USA, China, and Romania. Braga is now involved in projects in Guatemala and Brazil and says she would like to develop more olfactory art projects in the Arab world.
Read more:
Brazilian art in Saudi Arabia competes for award
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
