Colombian-American movement researcher, artist, scholar and educator. Catalina studies political implications and creative possibilities of existing in interdependence. She explores multiple practices of documentation and archiving, making and registering space, and examining embodied history(ies). This work is situated at the intersection of movement, critical and feminist pedagogies, and contemporary art practices. As part of her commitment to feminist knowledge and pedagogy, Catalina’s research relies on partnerships, collaborations, and multiple forms of dialogue. She is currently faculty in Women’s and Gender Studies, at Virginia Tech’s Academy for Transdisciplinary Studies. Catalina earned her PhD in Art Education, School of Art + Design, at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where she also earned graduate certificates in Latino/Latina Studies, Gender and Women Studies and participated in the Dance graduate minor program. She is a 2022 Smalley Fellow in Gender Studies from the University of Illinois, and 2020-2021 Kate Neal Kinley Fellow in arts. Catalina has shared her work in the form of participatory workshops with different groups in locations like Bogotá-Colombia, Champaign-Urbana, New York, and Berlin-Germany. She also occasionally participates as a dancer and collaborator in dance pieces choreographed by colleagues and friends. She also holds an EdM in Aesthetic Education and a BA in Sociology and Political Science.
I understand tension, as a force, always present, that we can work-with and which makes us move. I approach contact, as an opportunity of encountering others and unsettle the smoothness of our skin.
My work is always informed, inspired and supported by mentors, colleagues, collaborators and students. I make-with, move-with, learn-with and think-with. To all of you who are integral part of my work, THANK YOU. GRACIAS