Valeria Arendar (b. 1994) is an Argentine-Mexican visual artist and researcher based in Mexico City. Working across photography, archives, fiction, and research, her practice explores the unstable relationships between images, memory, political history, and the ways in which the past is constructed and made visible. Rather than approaching photography solely as evidence, she is interested in the image as a space where latent histories, absences, and speculative possibilities can emerge.
She is currently pursuing a PhD in Art History and Critical Theory at Universidad Iberoamericana, where she previously earned an MA in Art Studies with Honorable Mention. She holds a BA in Social Communication from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and studied photography at Escuela Activa de Fotografía. Her training includes the Photographic Production Seminar at Centro de la Imagen, the Visual Arts Production Residency at Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa), and the Leica Gallery Mexico City × Proyecto H Residency.
Arendar is a two-time recipient of Jóvenes Creadores (SACPC/FONCA). Her distinctions include the PhMuseum Intersection Grant, OD Photo Prize Judge’s Pick, PhotoEspaña Descubrimientos, POY Latam – Nuestra Mirada, and honorable mentions from the Gomma Grant and the PhMuseum Women Photographers Grant. She has also been nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award and the World Press Photo 6×6 Global Talent Program.
Her first solo exhibition, Dos Veces María, was presented at Fonderia 20.9 in Italy in collaboration with PhMuseum. Her work has since been presented internationally at Leica Gallery Mexico City, PhotoVogue Festival, Indian Photo Festival, PhMuseum Days, Beirut Image Festival, Tbilisi Photo Festival, FOTO Bali Festival, the Argentine Documentary Photography Biennial, Bronx Documentary Center, Centro de la Imagen, and Zona Maco, among others.
Her work and research have been featured in The British Journal of Photography, Fisheye Magazine, PhMuseum, Revista Alquimia, and other international publications. She is represented in the United Kingdom by Open Doors Gallery and is a member of Women Photograph and Foto-Féminas.
Education
2026–Present | PhD in Art History and Critical Theory, 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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The Scenic Condition of Images with Andrea Soto Calderón, Universidad Finis Terrae, Chile, 2026.
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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
2026 | The dice was loaded from the start w/ Eleana Konstantellos (artistic duo) at Leica Gallery Mexico + FocoLab
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.
Residencies & Fellowships
2026 | Leica Gallery Mexico City / Proyecto H Residency (with Eleana Konstantellos), Mexico City, Mexico.
2024–2025 | Jóvenes Creadores (Young Creators), SACPC (formerly FONCA), Mexico — Grant Recipient
2023–2025 | Academic Excellence Scholarship, Universidad Iberoamericana.
2021–2022 | Jóvenes Creadores (Young Creators), SACPC (formerly FONCA), Mexico — Grant Recipient
Grants and awards
2025 | International Artist Invitee at Paris Photo, sponsored by Huawei.
2023 | Gomma Grant (Honorable Mention)
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 | III Festival de Fotografía de Medellin at Biblioteca Pública Piloto (Colombia)
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
2026 | Los dados estaban cargados: la Ciudad de México como tablero de espionaje, Noir Magazine.
2026 | Valeria Arendar y Eleana Konstantellos André presentan ‘Los dados estaban cargados’, Marie Claire
2026 | "Cold War Espionage and Its Invisible Army" by Raquel Villar-Pérez, British Journal of Photography.
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.