Yohanna M Roa
Statement
I am a visual artist, curator, art historian, art critic and archivist, with a feminist-decentralized approach and archival perspectives. My practices aim to provoke changes in how we reflect, organize, and write about the past, particularly in the history of art and our bodies. Being a woman constitutes a specific political and social framework within this historical-conceptual construction that shapes my worldview. My work focuses on activating decolonial processes, aiming to recover and highlight memories, knowledge, and even the hidden or obscured bodies in the processes of writing history. Traditionally, women have transmitted knowledge through oral traditions and teaching in everyday spaces such as cooking or sewing.
I define my artistic practice under the concept of "activist fabrics," where textile practices serve as feminist political action devices. I am interested in highlighting that everyday activities and spaces, such as food, decoration, and caregiving, are arenas for rescuing stories connected to socially significant events. These spaces and memories enable me to explore the connections between personal experiences and socio-political structures, demonstrating that spaces often perceived as individual and disconnected are in fact social and structural.
Bio
Yohanna M Roa is a transcultural-feminist visual artist, art historian, and art critic based in New York. She is represented by Ana Tejeda Gallery, the curator and program developer of WhiteBox NYC and the Editor in chief of INES_Magazina. She holds a Ph.D. in the History and Critical Theories of Art program from the Universidad Iberoamericana, México, where she graduated Cum Laude with her thesis. She holds a MA in Women and Gender Studies from the CUNY Graduate Center, a MA in Visual Arts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts from the Departmental Institute of Fine Arts of Colombia, a meritorious thesis. Her most recent solo performance occurred at The Thyssen Bornemisza Museum in Madrid in 2024. Her artistic work has been studied, published, and discussed by various scholars and publications, including Karen Cordero for the 109th CAA Annual Conference in 2021, in "Revaluing Feminine Trajectories and Stitching Alternative Genealogies in the Work of Yohanna Roa," and Natalia De la Rosa in "Yohanna M Roa, Textile Woman," published in Casa del Tiempo Magazine, among others. Yohanna has been recognized with the Young Creators Award from the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, and her work is part of the permanent collection of the Tlatelolco Cultural Center in Mexico City. She collaborates regularly with Art Nexus and WhiteHot Magazine. She has had lectures at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Mexico and the Latin American Public Art Seminar. She has curated projects and educational art and archive projects for institutions, including the National Center of Art Research (CENIDIAP) in Mexico and the Tertulia Museum of Modern Art in Colombia. She is the curator and program developer of WhiteBox NY. In addition, she has served as a jury member for events such as Wienwoche: Festival of Art and Activism in Vienna, Austria, in 2024, the Money for Women Grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund in the USA in 2024 and Liu Shiming Art Foundation Grants for Artists, 2024, NYC.
BRIEF
Academics
- PHD History and Critical Theory of Art. Universidad Iberoaméricana de México. Meritorious Thesis 2023
- MA Program in Women's and Gender Studies – CUNY, at Graduade Center. 2024
- MA in Visual Arts . UNAM CDMX 2010
- DEGREE: Master in Fine Arts. INDEBA - Colombia 2005 Meritorious Thesis
- ESPECIALIZACIÓN Screenwriting for Cinema and Television. Secretariat of Public Education CDMX 2006 Diploma
- Anthropology of Art. SIESAS – LATIR. CDMX 2017
- Mexico an anthropological issue. Urban Ethnography Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana 2004 CDMX
- General Education Degree. Central Piedmont Community College. Charlotte NC. USA. 2011
Awards
- National Stimulus Scholarship for Creators. Ministry of Culture of Colombia 2013
- CONACYT Scholarship - Mexico
- CONACYT mixed scholarship
Artist residencies
- Artist in Residency Confluence MFA program, Interdisciplinary • Accessible • Regenerative. Jan 2024.
- Earth day Celebration. Artist in Residency. Feb-May 8th 2024
- The Vance Waddell Residence, Yohanna M Roa: The New Historiographic Atlas, Documents And Portraits. August-September 2023. Wave Pool Gallery Cincinnati, OH. Solo exhibition.
- PTM-NYLLAAT Artists-in-Residence Program. May 5th to June 25th, 2023. Governors Island
- NARS Foundation NYC. July - Sep 2019
- Calpulli Tecalco. January - Dic 2018. Atocpan México
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Vision and Presence. Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, Madrid. Yohanna M. Roa, Pocahontas y la Malinche. Performance Cycle.
2023 The Vance Waddell Residence, Yohanna M Roa: The New Historiographic Atlas, Documents And Portraits. Wave Pool Gallery Cincinnati, OH. Solo exhibition.
2022 Textile Woman. ArtLatinou Gallery. Mexico City / MACO.
2020 The Past Instructions for its Use. Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati. Selection by jury.
2020 The Past Instructions for its Use - La Bodega Gallery - NYC
2019 Geographies: the journey to Malacachtepec Momoxco. Calpulli Tecalco. Mexico.
2018 The Past Instructions for its Use. Valenzuela Klener Gallery. Bogota ArtBo weekend
... and we could escape the words. University House of the UANL Book. Monterrey
2017 The Earth Is Flat. Cultural Center Mexiquence Bicentenario. Mexico state.
2015 RED The Roldán Plaza Circle. G&B Mexico DF
2014 FAITH OF ERRATS. Proartes Cali
2013 HABITAT. Exhibition hall Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali
2012 EDEN. Cultural Center of Cali
Collections and commissions - Sara Vance Waddell - CCUTlatelolco - UANL - Casa del Libro - Renombrar el Mundo - UNAM
Publications About My Work
- Review about my ecofeminist works exhibited at the Tlatelolco Cultural Center, Mexico city : ¨Calihtic, Adentro del Vientre de la casa¨ y ¨la Cocina¨.
- Manifest Exhibition Annual Season 17. Solo Show Yohanna M Roa. 2023. Cincinnati OH. English
- Review by ERIN L. MCCUTCHEON PHD, Re-Shaping the Sugar. English 2023
- (Re)-Generating Narratives ans Imaginaries. Women In Dialogue. Kaluz Museum. CDMX 2022
- CALCO, Plataforma, Redes e Intermediaciones. Impulso, Difusión e Intercambio, Desde las Prácticas Artisticas Contemporaneas" By Rocio Cárdenas Pacheco. Spanish 2023
- Natalia de la Rosa: Yohanna M Roa, Textile Woman. Casa del Tiempo Magazine. 2022. spanish
- Review By Samuel Espindola JMA Matriarchive in Resistance. ArtReview City. English
- Revaluing Feminine Trajectories and Stitching Alternative Genealogies in the Work of Yohanna M. Roa. By Karen Cordero R. The CAA 2021. Anual Conference. English
- The Past Instructions for Its Use. H-ART. N 251- January-June 2020, 351 pp. pp. 242-251 - Magazine of the Department of Art History Universidad de Los Andes -Colombia - Karen Cordero Reiman. 020 Art. Spanish
– Hag NY- English
- Arte Camara / International Art Fair of Bogota - ArbO / Catalog and Guide / Bogotá / 2012
- Six Lines of Flight. Shifting Geographies in contemporary art / San Francisco Museum of Modern Art / USA / 2012 (work with the collective Helena Producciones)
- Ojo cautivado / Picnic, Cultural Magazine, volume 25 / Mexico City / January 2009/ Artículo Luz Sepulveda
Curatorial
2024
- The Another Artscape, Here and There. WhiteBox NY. - The Braid - La trenza. WhiteBox NY. A Collective Feminist Curatorial
2023 - Taller Boricua, From ArtWorkers Coalitions Through Today
- Re-shaping the sugar. Caribbean artists in NY. WBX NY
- Taller Boricua, From Art Workers Coalitions through today
2022
- Deshilar la Revolución Cotidiana. Textile Exhibition. Museo la Tertulia, Cali Colombia
- Piel Es. Textile Exhibition. Museo la Tertulia, Cali Colombia
- Matriarchive In Resistance
Jury
- Liu Shiming Art Foundation Grants for Artists, 2024, NYC.
-Wienwoche. Festival of Art and Activism. Vienna, Austria. 2024
-Money for Women Grant. Barbara Deming Memorial Fund. 2024 USA
-Salón de arte joven Cali. CALCO. 2016
-Becas BLOC de creación. Museo la Tertulia y Lugar a Dudas Cali. 2014
Art Criticism and Writing
• Vladimir Sorokin: BLUE LARD #cancelrussianculture. WhiteHot Magazine. May 2024.
• Cantando Bajito, "Testimonies," at the Ford Foundation. WhiteHot Magazine. April 2024
• Ariamna Contino & Alex Hernández-Dueñas. Nunu Fine Art Gallery, NY-Taipei. Art Nexus Dec – May 2024
• Macho: Representing Masculinity Another Space. NYC. By Yohanna M. Roa. Art Nexus Aug – Nov 2023
• Club Cementerio, Julia San Martín solo show: Raúl Zamudio Projects / Empty Circle NYC. Art Review City. Aug. 2023
• Review about three solo Shows at A.I.R. Gallery on WhiteHot Magazine. Maxine Henryson, Zoila Andrea Coc-Chang (鄭慧蘭) and Keli Safia Maksud
• PEREMOGA /victory/ukr. at WhiteBox. WhiteHot Magazine. Review by Yohanna M Roa.
• Tramas de Resistencia. Ponencia. Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas UNAM. Link video-grabación ver Información general
• Carolina Caycedo and David de Rozas, MoMA Projects. Review by Yohanna M. Roa Art Nexus Magazine.
• A Crack in the Hourglass, An Ongoing COVID-19 Memorial. Rafael Lozano Hammer. Review by Yohanna M Roa. ARTNEXUS Magazine.
• Latin American Artists at the New Museum Art Triennial. Review By Yohanna M Roa. Art Nexus
lectures and Conferences
2024
• LASA. Congreso de Arte Latinoamericano. Universidad Javeriana Bogotá.
• La Matriarchiva Transdisciplina y materialidad de los acervos documentales, MACAD – ENCRYM - INHA
2023
• ICAG International Conference On Architecture And Gender. Lecture Lia Gil Antunes and Yohanna M. Roa. Valencia-Spain.
2021
• Conference. INES – Intersectional Expanded System. Art and Archival Practices. MUAC – Campus Expandidos. CDMX. 2021. Link video-grabación Spanish
• Lecture: Territory under discussion. (Territorio en Discusión.)Curatorial project developed for the exterior architectural areas and spaces surrounding the La Tertulia Museum - Cali, Colombia. VII International Seminar on Public Art in Latin America. Constelaciones Del Arte Público: contextos, paisajes, saberes.
• INES – Matriarchiva. Intersectional Expanded System – Sistema Interseccional Expandido, de Yohanna M. Roa. Archivos, mujeres, géneros y derechos Humanos (Archives, women, genders and human rights) Including a chapter about Josefina Mena collection and the feminist methodology to create matriarchives: INES, intersectional Expanded system. Edited by Archivo Nacional de Chile. Spanish.
• Conference: "Intersectional fabrics" Transdisciplinarity in artistic practices. V International Research Colloquium in Visual Arts.Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala
• Conference: "An emerging methodology to create the Josefina Mena Abraham Archive", Seminario de aplicaciones (im)prácticas a las teorías de género. Ibero-American University of Mexico.
• Lecture: QUARANTINE PROJECT – PROYECTO CUARENTENA. Artistic interventions in private and personal spaces. Yohanna M Roa. Congress, Diversity and Crosses in Art. Limits and Borders. Ibero-American University of Mexico.
• Conference: INES - Intersectional Expanded System I Expanded intersectional system. Archival practices, Yohanna M Roa. MUAC-UNAM. Mexico 2019- Lecture. "Transverse Line: City and Body Writings". "Radical Women”: Critical Perspectives on a Landmark Exhibition. SEAC (Southeastern College Art Conference) - Tennessee. 2019
• Lecture 16 FORUM OF HISTORY AND CRITICISM OF THE MODERN ARCHITECTURE. Autonomous University of Yucatan. Mérida 2018 Mexico
• Conference: Seminar: Approaches to contemporary artistic practices. 2/8/18 Autonomous University of Nuevo León, Faculty of Visual Arts / Postgraduate
• Conference: Public space as a possibility and sense of Community. 2 ENCRYM Urban Art Meeting. XI 2016 CDMX
• Conference: Dialogues on experiences in Educational Intervention. Pedagogical University of Morelos. Mexico 2015.
Group exhibitions
2024
Second Time Around, James Town Arts Center, RI.
2023
- Follow The Thread, Raul Zamudio Gallery Projects, New York City.
- Dynamic museums. Teoretica, San José Costa Rica.
- Re-generating… narratives and imaginaries. Women in dialogue. MUMA, Sonora.
- Xaltilolli. Memories, arts and resistance, space for the construction of historical interpretations. Tlatelolco University Cultural Center. Rotation of the permanent collection.
2022 - Kaluz Museum. Re)generando… narrativas e imaginarios. Mujeres en diálogo. Group Exhibition
- Renombrar el mundo: Expediciones botánicas en la Nueva España, del Centro Cultural Tlatelolco. Commissioned work. Group Exhibition
- Off The Cloth. WhiteBox NY
2021 Reconfiguration: Textile as Textuality. Exhibition, at MUMA, Mexico City
2021Resilencias Tejidas. Atlatinou Gallery. México City
2019 Ven y cuéntame la verdá: de la bandeja paisa... al último suflé. Valenzuela Klener Gallery. Bogotá – Colombia
- Behind the Seen. NARS Foundation. New York.
2018 Art and Textiles The Walnut Club. Ana Restrepo del Corral Foundation.
2016 Natures of a Happy World / Collective exhibition / Cultural Center of Cali. April 2016
2015 HIDDEN ART Along Göta channel. Östergötland Sweden. Public Art. Meteor Project
2013 X TEN. Raúl Anguiano Museum, Guadalajara Jalisco - Gallery Sector Reforma
- Women's Scenarios - Luz y Oficios Gallery - Habana Cuba Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design
2012 LATIN AMERICAN PRESENCE. Veracruzano Institute of Culture. Xalapa Veracruz
- ARTBO - Corferias Chamber Art Bogotá Colombia
2011 PLATTFORM ZUR PRÄSENTATION VON KUNSTINITIATIVENIN ART FAIR Karlsruhe plus internationale Gäste Germany
2016 Editorial work
- Antonio Caro Postcards Book / Book edition and exhibition curatorship / Cali Departmental Library.
- Book No Copyright - Special Edition
Workshops
-Personal and Community Archives. Swiss Institute, NY, 2023
- The power Mask. El Centro Hispano. June 13th 2023, Arts Westchester.
- Collages workshop. Arts Westchester, 2023.
- The Power of Words. Arts and Activism. Westchester Youth Alliance. 2023
- Costumes Workshop. Earth day Celebration. Mara 8 – May 13th, 2023
- Workshop: Personal memory configuration. 6,7, and February 8, 2018. Secretary of Extension and Culture and Management of University Publishing. University House of the UANL Book
- Workshop: Community Archives - Personal Archives October 2017. Cultural Area of the Banco de la República. Cali, Colombia
- Are there collections without public? The social relations that make up the collections. / Clinic taught / Alameda Art Laboratory. 2016
- Workshop: Cali Live Document. Cultural Area of the Bank of the Republic. Cali, Colombia. VII –VIII 2016
Yohanna M Roa. Photo by Antonio Juárez Caudillo