Performance and Impact
Monument to the Great Living Artist, Photo by Javier Caso, 2018, Performance, Duration: 9:26 minutes.
We met with interdisciplinary artist, educator, former fashion designer and recent residency alumnus Yali Romagoza to learn more about her work and her time attending SVA’s virtual residency program: The Artist Residency Project. Romagoza came to the U.S. from Cuba in 2011, and her work discusses migration issues and the effects of political trauma on the individual through performance, video installations, photography and costume design.
What was your focus while attending your residency at SVA?
I focused on a documentary that reflects on the experience from my project No me pongan en lo Oscuro (Do not bury me in Darkness), an ongoing series of “unannounced performative actions” in art institutions such as museums and art fairs, responsible for the invisibility and erasure of the Latina artists in the diaspora within the art system. My time in the residency at SVA was a critical moment to think about how the project can grow and make an impact using other methods of communication besides performance—in this case, thinking of building a hybrid documentary that crosses genres and mediums. At the same time, I am exploring different forms of documentation that contribute to creating an archive. Latin diasporic bodies have been systemically erased from art history. Archiving is essential for future generations to know what has been done to make a change in an art world that follows a colonial model promoting separation, segregation and discrimination.
No me pongan en lo Oscuro (Do not bury me in Darkness), Action #7, 2021, unannounced performative action at Miami Art Basel, duration 30 minutes. Photo by Sarah Bejarano, Arantxa Araujo, Gabriela Burdsall, Salomé Egas, Verónica Peña, Legna Rodriguez and Odie Senesh.
The Mistress of Loneliness (Chapter 1: The Departure & Chapter 2: We the People), 2019-2020, sculptural floor-based video installation with custom-made wooden suitcase(s), 31 1/2”x29”x6.9”. Photo by Andrew T. White/ EFA Project Space, 2019- 2020.
Did your residency experience shift or change the projection of what you were working on?
Yes. Having these intimate conversations with faculty members and peers was beneficial for my project. In each case, the feedback was different and helped me be open to ideas, add tools, and dive into the art-making process. Sometimes I am focused on finalizing a project, but understanding the richness of the process is essential.
How do you see yourself developing your practice and your work in the future?
I see myself collaborating to create a platform for connection and support that helps women-identifying artists grow and further expand what the Latinx community means in the U.S. and globally. I will continue to explore new modes of archiving through performance as vehicles for social change, for identity exploration in a multicultural space and for highlighting and empowering diverse origins and histories.
90 miles, living art installation/performance, duration 57 minutes. Photo by Pique Gallery.
Headshot of artist Yali Romagoza.
No me pongan en lo Oscuro (Do not bury me in Darkness), Action #6, 2021, Unannounced performative action at MoMA PS1, duration 30 minutes. Photo by Paola Martinez Fiterre, Salomé Egas, Julia Justo, Anet Melo, Verónica Peña, Yali Romagoza, Gabriela X. Sanchez Frank.