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Zona de despeje 10
The tenth iteration of Zona de despeje, El agua como desafío: Creación y sostenibilidad, organized by Tráfico Visual, will bring together four invited participants to reflect on the role of water in contemporary creative and research practices. This event will take place on Friday, April 25 at 6:00 p.m. in the Pablo Lasala Hall (Unidad Docente 9, 5th floor) at the School of Architecture and Urbanism of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), in Caracas.
Through a series of individual presentations, the invited guests will explore the symbolic, ecological, and political dimensions of water across disciplines such as architecture, visual art, editorial work, and curatorial research.
Architect Ricardo Sanz Sosa will examine how water shapes public space through critical and speculative design approaches. Artist and curator Katya Cazar will speak about the rivers of Cuenca, Ecuador, and their connection to memory, identity, and environmental protection. Artist Javier Grajales will present recent work focused on the Guaire River in Caracas, while Marianela Díaz Cardozo will share reflections drawn from her editorial work on LA ESCUELA___ JOURNAL N°1, dedicated to water-based pedagogies in the Americas.
About the speakers:
Ricardo Sanz Sosa, architect and artist, graduated from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at UCV in 2000. He has participated in national and international biennials and competitions, focusing on public space while also developing private projects. He currently teaches at the FAU–UCV.
Katya Cazar is an Ecuadorian artist and curator based in Cuenca. She holds a degree in Visual Arts, a Master’s in Cultural Studies, and a specialization in Latin American curating. She curated the 11th edition and directed the 12th and 15th editions of the Cuenca Biennial. She has exhibited widely throughout Latin America.
Javier Grajales is a Venezuelan visual artist and social communicator whose work investigates the urban biome. He received first prize at the 23rd Salón Jóvenes con FIA (2023) and a previous prize in experimental printmaking at the III Bienal Nacional de Artes Gráficas (2016). His solo shows include Escrituras Sagradas (2024) and Reenfoque (2017).
Marianela Díaz Cardozo is an artist, editor, and translator. Through her tactile artistic practice, she explores spiritual-material connections. She is co-founder of the research collective Mollusca and currently serves as editorial coordinator of LA ESCUELA___, a platform for public learning and collective creation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Zona de despeje was originally conceived as a series of talks and meetings organized by Tráfico Visual with the support of allied institutions, aiming to discuss and highlight initiatives, movements, and new trends that, although sometimes peripheral, represent axes that resonate within the languages of contemporary culture in Venezuela. Zona de despeje is possible, in part, thanks to the initial support of the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.
For additional details and updates, please visit Tráfico Visual’s website.
Image: Elina Rodríguez. Courtesy La Escuela/Marianela Díaz Cardozo
Through a series of individual presentations, the invited guests will explore the symbolic, ecological, and political dimensions of water across disciplines such as architecture, visual art, editorial work, and curatorial research.
Architect Ricardo Sanz Sosa will examine how water shapes public space through critical and speculative design approaches. Artist and curator Katya Cazar will speak about the rivers of Cuenca, Ecuador, and their connection to memory, identity, and environmental protection. Artist Javier Grajales will present recent work focused on the Guaire River in Caracas, while Marianela Díaz Cardozo will share reflections drawn from her editorial work on LA ESCUELA___ JOURNAL N°1, dedicated to water-based pedagogies in the Americas.
About the speakers:
Ricardo Sanz Sosa, architect and artist, graduated from the School of Architecture and Urbanism at UCV in 2000. He has participated in national and international biennials and competitions, focusing on public space while also developing private projects. He currently teaches at the FAU–UCV.
Katya Cazar is an Ecuadorian artist and curator based in Cuenca. She holds a degree in Visual Arts, a Master’s in Cultural Studies, and a specialization in Latin American curating. She curated the 11th edition and directed the 12th and 15th editions of the Cuenca Biennial. She has exhibited widely throughout Latin America.
Javier Grajales is a Venezuelan visual artist and social communicator whose work investigates the urban biome. He received first prize at the 23rd Salón Jóvenes con FIA (2023) and a previous prize in experimental printmaking at the III Bienal Nacional de Artes Gráficas (2016). His solo shows include Escrituras Sagradas (2024) and Reenfoque (2017).
Marianela Díaz Cardozo is an artist, editor, and translator. Through her tactile artistic practice, she explores spiritual-material connections. She is co-founder of the research collective Mollusca and currently serves as editorial coordinator of LA ESCUELA___, a platform for public learning and collective creation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Zona de despeje was originally conceived as a series of talks and meetings organized by Tráfico Visual with the support of allied institutions, aiming to discuss and highlight initiatives, movements, and new trends that, although sometimes peripheral, represent axes that resonate within the languages of contemporary culture in Venezuela. Zona de despeje is possible, in part, thanks to the initial support of the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.
For additional details and updates, please visit Tráfico Visual’s website.
Image: Elina Rodríguez. Courtesy La Escuela/Marianela Díaz Cardozo
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