Valeria Arendar (b. 1994)
Argentinian-Mexican visual artist and researcher. She holds an MFA in Art Studies with a specialization in Art History and Critical Theory from Universidad Iberoamericana, where she is also a member of the Technical Council of the Art Department. She studied Photography at the Escuela Activa de Fotografía and earned a BA in Social Communication from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. She was selected for the Jóvenes Creadores grant in two consecutive terms (2021–2025) by the Sistema de Apoyos a la Creación y Proyectos Culturales. In 2019, she participated in the Photographic Production Seminar at Centro de la Imagen.
Her artistic practice has received international recognition, with nominations for the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award (2022) and the 6x6 North and Central America Talents programme by World Press Photo (2020). Her work explores the intersection between fiction, politics, and material imagination, focusing on artistic practice, the study of the image and media, and the potential of visual narratives to challenge reality.
She has collaborated with publications such as Fishe Eye Magazine, Chiquilla Te Quiero, Patronato de Arte Contemporáneo, Fiiiirst, Letargo Revista, PhMuseum, Discarded Magazine, and Otros Diálogos. In addition to her artistic practice, she has taught photography and visual arts at institutions such as Centro de la Imagen, Escuela Activa de Fotografía, Gimnasio de Arte y Cultura, and the Secretaría de Cultura de Yucatán.
She is a member of Foto-Féminas and Women Photograph.
Represented by Open Doors Gallery
Education
2026–Present | PhD in Art History and Critical Theory (starting August 2026), Universidad Iberoamericana
2023 – 2025 | MFA, Universidad Iberoamericana (Graduated with Honorable Mention)
2014 - 2018 | Bachelor's Degree Social Comunication, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana .
2013 - 2015 | Photography, Escuela Activa de Fotografía, CDMX (EAF).
Seminars:
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Radical Plasticity: Breaking Form with Catherine Malabou, taught by Dr. Ainhoa Suárez Gómez, PhD in Philosophy.
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Rebel Archives: Critical Methodologies and Artistic Practices in Central America and the Caribbean, taught by Dr. Sofía Vindas Solano, Researcher at the IIE, UNAM, and M.A. Elva Peniche Montfort, Researcher at the Arkheia Documentation Center, MUAC.
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2nd Latin American Documentary Photography Lab, organized by Biblioteca Pública Piloto (Medellín, Colombia), with the support of Federico Ríos Escobar and mentorship by Rodrigo Abd.
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Photographic Production Seminar at Centro de la Imagen (México), under the mentorship of Nirvana Paz and Óscar Farfán.
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Visual Arts Residency Program at Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa), Oaxaca, supported by the Secretaría de Cultura through Centro Nacional de las Artes and the Chapultepec, Naturaleza y Cultura initiative (PADID 2021), under the mentorship of Laureana Toledo, Luis Felipe Ortega, Richard Moska, Natalia de la Rosa, and Rolando Flores.
Solo exhibitons
2021 | Dos Veces Maria, curated by Chiara Bandino, in collaboration with PHmuseum & Fonderia 20.9
2021 | Dos Veces Maria, Budapest Photo Festival.
2019 | La Dignidad Rebelde - Galería Utópicas, CDMX, México.
Grants and awards
2025 | International Artist Invitee at Paris Photo, sponsored by Huawei.
2024 - 2025 | Young Creators with Trajectory, FONCA (winner)
2023 - 2025 | Academic excellence grant - Universidad Iberoamericana.
2023 | Gomma Grant (Honorable Mention)
2021 - 2022 | Young Creators, FONCA (winner)
2021 | Bird in Flight 21' (finalist)
2021 | OD Photo Prize 2021 (Judge's Pick by Steve MacLeod)
2021 | Intersection, PhMuseum - Founderia 20.9 (winner)
2021 | Descubrimiento PhotoEspaña 2021
2021 | Nuestra Mirada of PoyLatam
2020 | New Generation - Phmuseum (Honorable Mention)
2020 | Phmuseum 2020 Woman Photographers Grant (finalist)
2019 | National Photography of Human Rights (second place)
Nominations
2022 | Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award, Leica.
2020 | 6x6 North And Central America Talents, World Press Photo programme.
Collective exhibitions & festivals
2026 | FOTO Bali Festival, curated by Kurniadi Widodo and Putu Sridiniari
2026 | ZsONAMACO, Mexico City. Special project / invited artist (LMI booth)
2025 | Creación en movimiento, FONCA, Puebla, México.
2025 | FotoFeminas 10-Year Anniversary, Bronx Documentary Center, curated by Verónica Sánchiz
2024 | 11th Argentine Documentary Photography Biennialm curated by Diego Aráoz, Verónica Santalla and Maximiliano Caram.
2024 | Indian Photo Festival w/ Melka Collective, Hyderabad, India.
2024| Premio Javier Ramírez Limón FotoSeptiembre w/ Melka Collective, Museo de Arte de Sonora, Mexico, curated by José Luis Cuevas.
2024 | PhMuseum International Photo Festival w/ Melka Collective, PhMuseum Days, Bologna, Italy
2024 | Other Spaces, curated by Loop Raum, B-Part Am Gleisdreieck Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2023 | Concurso nacional de Identidad, Cuartoscuro 2023, Fundación Marso, Mexico City.
2022 | Creación en movimiento, FONCA, México.
2022 | Beirut Image Festival, Beirut.
2022 | 10+1 , Centro de las Artes de San Agustín Etla, Oaxaca, México.
2022 | Le monde vu par les femmes d'Amérique latine, Paris, France.
2022 | International exhibition of Bird in Flight Prize finalists - Lituania
2022 | On Body and Soul - online exhibition: PhMuseum & Bird in Flight.
2021 | Political Statement - LoosenArt, Rome, Italy.
2021 | Open Doors Gallery's Winter Exhibition, London, UK, curated by Tom Page.
2021 | Concebir, decir, nombrar, Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, curated by Nirvana Paz and Óscar Farfán.
2020 | Conections by PEP - Photographic Exploration Project, Berlín, Germany, curated by Antonio Rodriguez and Bénédicte Blondeau
2020 | Fotógrafas en México: Somos una y somos muchas
2020 | Emerging Mexican Photography Tbilisi Photo Festival, Georgia, curated by Nestan Nijaradze.
2020 | Mujeres en el Territorio, Metro Zapata, Mexico City.
2020 | Photo Vogue Festival, Italy
2020 | Indian Photo Festival at State Gallery of Art, Hyderabad, India.
2020 | Feminist Art Colective, Toronto, Canadá.
2019 | Quinta Edición Feminasty at La Nana, Mexico City, México.
2019 | Utopías - Galería Utópicas, Mexico City, México.
Selected press & interviews
2025 | “Hacer aparecer: lo que han dado a ver las fotógrafas en México (1994–2024)” by Johan Trujillo Argüelles, Revista Alquimia núm. 83
2025 | "Valeria Arendar et Eleana Konstantellos : histoire fragmentée d’espionnage au Mexique", Fishe Eye Magazine (france)
2025 | "The dice was loaded from the start: entre la ficción, la Historia y el espionaje" - Rara Plataforma (Argentina)
2023 | "The Annihilation of Space and Time", publish by Zrfdbck, Japan.
2022 | Dictature, torture et fuite: Valeria Arendar part sur les traces de sa mère militante, Fishe Eye Magazine.
2022 | Revertir la historia como un acto de resistencia, Letargo Revista (Chile)
2022 | Ones to watch in 2022 (artsy)
2021 | OD Photo Prize Catalogue
2021 | Two Times Mary en Discarded Magazine (versión en línea e impresa).
2021 | Fleeing Argentina During the Military Dictatorship, In Focus: Latin American Female Photographers.
2020 | Dos Veces María en Editor's top projects of 2020 - Phmuseum
2020 | Bitácora de Procesos: Seminario de Producción Fotográfica, Centro de la Imagen - México.
2019 | La Dignidad Rebelde en Protocolo para Juzgar con Perspectiva de Género
2019 | Mexico city: cradles of empires editado por Reaktion Books del Reino Unido.
2019 | La Dignidad Rebelde - Revista Chilango, versión impresa.
2018 | Seis Palindromas en Otros Diálogos de El Colegio de México, versión digital.