About Me

Paula Abreu was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Since 2010, however, she has been calling New York City home. As the Associate Director of Programming for City Parks Foundation, she is responsible for booking and curating music programs and pre-show lectures as part of the iconic SummerStage festival and Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Prior to joining CPF, Abreu worked in production at the Red Hot Organization, and public programming at Lincoln Center’s festivals Lincoln Center Out of Doors and Midsummer Night Swing. She was inspired to pursue a career in the arts after working on a business project for six months in Angola, where she was exposed to the richness of the country’s culture and music. She holds a master’s degree in Performing Arts Administration from New York University.

Abreu has served as an artistic juror, panelist, speaker, or mentor for conferences such as SXSW (South by Southwest, Austin), WOMEX - World Music Expo (Womex 18 Jury: The 7 Samurai), APaMM (Asia Pacific Music Meeting, Korea), Porto Musical (Brazil), Moshito (South African Music Conference and Exhibition), AME (Atlantic Music Expo, Cape Verde), IOMMA (Indian Ocean Music Market, Reunion Island), FOCUS Galicia (Spain), Mundial Montréal (Canada), Mozambique Music Meeting (Mozambique), SoL Sonidos Latinos (Spain), BOmm (Bogotá Music Market, Colombia), SIM São Paulo (São Paulo International Music Week, Brazil), Wavelengths: APAP World Music Pre-Conference (New York), MusiConnect (Paris).