NIA VA AL MUSEO | NIA DE INDIAS

NIA VA AL MUSEO | NIA DE INDIAS

"Nia va al Museo" is the first solo exhibition of young Chilean-Colombian artist Nia De Indias at Isabel Croxatto Gallery. The exhibition features photo performances and videos created between 2017 and 2023 in iconic museums in London, Bogotá, São Paulo, and Santiago.
What happens when dissident bodies enter the museum?
Nia de Indias invites us to move through heritage spaces through the insubordinate body of a drag guide who challenges the existence of counter-publics as non-normative social agencies. These bodies introduce practices and identities into the institution, representing and exchanging differentiated, dynamic, and fluid cultural repertoires. Through this gesture, Nia Goes to the Museum highlights that the very notion of the public is also fiction. Homogenizing mobile and nomadic experiences strains the Museum's space through regulatory systems, acting as fields of permanent conflict and sites of ongoing tension. The Museum is a contested space—a territory of debate. Nia re-signifies, cross-dresses, and subverts it. She brings forth the undomesticated body, the biographical approach, the emotionality of public life, and the disruptive emergence of new ways to experience the body within the Museum itself. Gloria Cortés Aliaga, Curator
Museo Nacional de Colombia (MNC), Bogotá 2017
After living in Chile for six years, I returned to Bogotá in early 2017 and explored my drag alter ego, Nia De Indias. Accompanied by María Montoya and Mónica Mosquera for audiovisual documentation, we walked to the National Museum of Colombia. Unfortunately, security guards stopped us, claiming my outfit was inappropriate for entry. The situation escalated to the museum staff, who questioned our intentions. We explained we were there to view the exhibitions, as any other visitor.
Videoperformance, 03 min 37 s, in 22" programmed Raspberry monitor. Limited Edition 1/1 + A/P
National Gallery, London 2022
In 2022, I received my first invitation to exhibit one of my projects in London, and I didn’t hesitate to bring Nia with me in my suitcase and perform the same action. This time, accompanied by photographer Antonia Canales, who hosted me in her home, we headed to the iconic National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
Polaroid photograph Sun 600 camera, framed in aluminum and protected by fine art glass, 22 x 20 cm
Polaroid photograph Sun 600 camera, framed in aluminum and protected by fine art glass, 22 x 20 cm
Polaroid photograph Sun 600 camera, framed in aluminum and protected by fine art glass, 22 x 20 cm
To our surprise, the guards at the entrance welcomed Nia without any issues. The footage that day reflects how easily we could move through the space. I felt like a true queen, stealing the spotlight from all those art masters, muses, and royals immortalized in the halls.
National Gallery London nº4, Analogue Photography, Printed on, 18 x 13 cm.
National Gallery London nº2, Analogue Photography, Printed on 320 gr Photo Baryta paper, 18 x 13 cm.
National Gallery London nº3, Analogue Photography, Printed on 320 gr Photo Baryta paper, 18 x 13 cm.
Museo de Arte de Sao Paulo (MASP), 2022
Three months later, in November 2022, I completed a residency in São Paulo, a city I had never visited. I studied several museums and eventually found the perfect space at MASP, located on Avenida Paulista, to explore an idea that had been on my mind for some time: the difference I perceive in how people look at and treat me, depending on whether I’m dressed as Andrés or Nia. This led to a two-part action on separate days, posing within the permanent collection space designed by Lina Bo Bardi.
Videoperformance, 05 min 59 s, in 22" programmed Raspberry monitor, 32.5 x 52.5 x 10 cm 3
Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes (MNBA), Santiago 2023
Finally, I concluded this action last year, no longer as a tourist but as a "drag guide" in my city, Santiago. Accompanied again by Antonia, we toured the Museo de Bellas Artes, MAC, MAVI, Museo de la Memoria, Museo de la Solidaridad, and the Museo Precolombino, carrying a guide’s banner with the title of the exhibition "Nia Goes to the Museum." As we walked through the halls and viewed the works in these institutions, we searched for queer references in their collections.
MNBA, 2023, Analog photography, printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 90 x 60 cm.
MNBA (Perla), 2023, Analog photography, printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 13 x 18 cm
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MAC), Santiago 2023
MAC, 2023, Analog photography printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 90 x 60 cm
In this image, I am standing in front of the work by the collective Las Yeguas del Apocalipsis, from their performance La Conquista de América, which took place on October 12, 1989, at the Chilean Commission for Human Rights. The photo documentation of the performance was taken by renowned artist Paz Errázuriz.
MAC (Yeguas) 2023, Analog photography printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 90 x 60 cm
Surprisingly, six years after the first action in Bogotá, the discomfort of some security guards was still evident, so much so that we were politely expelled from the Museo de la Memoria and asked not to carry the banner inside the MAC's Quinta Normal location.
MAC Bandera Rechazada, 2023, Analog photography, printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 13 x 18 cm
Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (MMDH), Santiago 2023
MMDH, 2023, Analog photography printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 90 x 60 cm
MMDH La Llegada, 2023, Analog photography, printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 13 x 18 cm
Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino (MCAP), Santiago 2023
MCAP, 2023, Analog photography, printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 90 x 60 cm
Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (MSSA), Santiago 2023
In this photo, I am standing next to the work "América Resumido" from 1995. by chilean artist Juan Pablo Langlois (1936-2019)
MSSA, 2023, Analog photography, printed on paper Baryta 320 grs. 90 x 60 cm
Andrés Parra (Colombian, b. 1995)
Andrés Parra, known by his alter ego Nia De Indias, is a visual artist and drag performer with a degree in Visual Arts from Universidad Diego Portales (Chile). Born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, he was inspired by local culture and pageants. At 17, he moved to Santiago, Chile, adding migration to his artistic themes. In 2015, he created Nia De Indias to make his queer identity visible and challenge hegemonic norms. His work uses recycled materials, multimedia, and explores resistance.
Photo Courtesy of José Noli