Brazilian-born artist and art educator Johab Silva lives and works in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and is the founder of NEW MEDIA WORKSHOP. Silva holds a BFA and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the Corcoran College of Art and Design and an MFA from Maine College of Art & Design, with a concentration in New Technologies. His interdisciplinary practice investigates the environmental and social consequences of urban development and the ways communities negotiate rapid technological and physical transformation.

Working across sculpture, installation, artificial intelligence, generative media, virtual and augmented reality, video projection, digital fabrication, and performance, Silva combines traditional and emerging technologies to examine relationships between people, infrastructure, technology, and the natural environment.

His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at venues including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Santo André Museum of Art in Brazil, The Kreeger Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Portland, Maine, NKR Neuer Kunstraum in Düsseldorf, Germany, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington. Recent exhibitions include solos at Fulton Gallery at Salisbury University and Current Space in Baltimore.

Silva’s work has been recognized through residencies, public commissions, and awards, including a residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington and a public commission for WMATA’s Art in Transit program. His work and practice have been featured and reviewed by The Washington Post, BmoreArt, Sculpture Magazine, PBS, and other media outlets.

In 2026, Silva was selected as a Fulbright Scholar Specialist, further extending his practice into international education and cultural exchange. His Fulbright work brings together his experience as an artist, educator, and new-media practitioner, with a particular interest in expanding access to creative technologies and interdisciplinary arts education in international communities.

STATEMENT

Any urban development - small or large - can be built at any pace or form, but it is crucial NOT to negotiate the environmental impact the urban growth may cause, especially in green environments and communities. And YES, the unstoppable construction of Data Centers is a huge problem right now, for communities and the environment.