Bella Cardim (b. 1978, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian visual artist based in Miami. After nearly two decades working as a commercial food photographer, Cardim shifted her practice toward a critical investigation of food beyond nourishment, examining its role within systems of belonging, identity, and cultural expectation.

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Working across photography, installation, sculpture, textiles, and text-based forms, Cardim explores the intersections between food, body, and culture. Her work considers how inherited narratives, aesthetic standards, and social structures shape the ways bodies are valued and disciplined.

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In addition to her extensive career in commercial food photography, Cardim has a background in fashion, having worked for several years within industries structured around image-making and the construction of beauty ideals.

Cardim’s work has been exhibited in museums, galleries, and cultural institutions in Brazil and across the United States.

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Cardim holds an MFA from Miami International University of Art and Design. She is a recipient of the Miami Individual Artist Grant (2025) and received the Director’s Choice Award from Art Fluent’s ConTEXT II (2023). She is currently a resident artist at Laundromat Art Space in Miami and a member of Grupo Corpo e Cultura in Brazil.