Laura Barriga Dávalos

Licenciatura in Visual Arts Universidad Mayor de San Andrés

Laura was born in Sucre, Bolivia, but has been mainly based in the city of La Paz for the past ten years. Over the years, she has extensively traveled both across Bolivia and the continent, immersing herself in various areas of exploration and work. Her experiences range from documenting her journeys through photography, engaging in artistic processes, participating in art residencies, teaching visual art and territoriality classes, to backpacking and learning from the diverse people she has encountered along the way.

During her time in college, Laura focused on the intersection of fine arts and social sciences. Within this realm, she honed her expertise in visual and contemporary arts. Observing the extractive nature often found in art and social sciences practices, she embarked on her thesis project. Her objective was to seek out local references, which led her to collaborate with the artists of Tentayapi, an Indigenous community residing in the lowlands. These women potters are striving to keep their practice alive and preserve it in response to processes of globalization. Since then, Laura has been actively engaged with their organization, documenting their practice and engaging in dialogues about creative possibilities. Her artwork has been showcased in museums, art galleries, and magazines in Bolivia and abroad.

Presently, Laura’s artistic practice centers around the processes more than creating objects, engaging with continual contemplation of images, thinking about their implications, the conversations and connections made during the process of creating, researching, or making something, and the role of art as a mode of thinking more than seeking for a final product.

Beyond these interests, Laura loves purposeless drawing, carefree dancing, and contemplating life. She can’t live without lettuce.