Rubén at work in the Te Whare Hēra studio. Image Credit: Amber-Jayne Bain

Please join us to celebrate the exhibition opening of our current Te Whare Hēra resident artist, Rubén Darío Díaz Chávez. Rubén is a researcher, curator and cultural manager whose career spans Latin America, Europe and Asia. His research touches on themes as diverse as quantum realism, independent art spaces in Latin America and Sapara Indigenous culture in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

He is the founder, director and curator of No Lugar – Arte Contemporaneo and Ripanu, both platforms for experimental and socially engaged art practices in Ecuador. His ongoing collaboration with Sapara leader Gloria Ushigua reflects his commitment to Indigenous rights, environmental justice and epistemic diversity, values he is eager to explore further during his time in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The focus of his residency is to develop a series of works exploring relationships with Indigenous peoples, acts of resistance and processes of cultural conciliation through the lens of contemporary art.