Photo/Foto: Marlène Ramírez-Cancio

Presenters: Gonzalo Rabanal, María José Contreras, Nao Bustamante, Nicolás Dumit Estévez

Moderator: Antonio Prieto Stambaugh

Biographies

Gonzalo Rabanal (Chile) studied Audio Visual Communication at the ARCOS Institute, where he began to develop a way of working that projects from individual to collective, opening up space for an expressive multiplicity. In 1989 he received a grant from the ANDES Foundation and in 2010 another from the Ford Foundation. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Visual Art at the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Chile.

María José Contreras Lorenzini (Chile) is performer and Doctor of Body Language and Psychology. Her work is comprised of creation and theoretical research on the expressive possibilities of the performative body. She is a member of La Diferencia, a collective that has created a series of performances in response to the Daniel Zamudio controversy. She is also teaches at the Drama School at the Universidad Católica de Chile.

Nao Bustamante (USA) is an internationally known and beloved artist, originally from California. She now resides in upstate New York, where she teaches and canoes with her poodle, Fufu. Bustamante’s at times precarious and radically vulnerable work encompasses performance art, video installation, visual art, filmmaking, and writing. Currently, Bustamante holds the position of Associate Professor of New Media and Live Art at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Nicolás Dumit Estévez (USA/Dominican Republic) works mainly in performance art and experiences where life and art often overlap. He has exhibited and performed extensively in the U.S. as well as internationally. Born in Santiago de los Treinta Caballeros, Dominican Republic, Estévez lives and works in the South Bronx.