Image: Karena Bravo. Image courtesy of the artist.

Karena Bravo

Multidisciplinary Artist

Karena Bravo is a multidisciplinary artist from Colombia. Her work is feminine and self-explorative. She uses mixed media techniques to represent Black Women and Women of Colour, their bodies' shape, hair, and style, highlighting their connection with nature and spirituality and representing their beauty, strength, and vulnerability.

Her work aims to be a tool for empowerment, building self-acceptance and confidence. Part of her creative process and outcome have been shaped by the constant necessity to reconnect with her roots. Being far away from home had encouraged Karena to explore different art forms and create a sense of belonging through dance and movement, inspiring her through her visual work and helping her preserve her culture and identity.

Image: Karena Bravo. Image courtesy of the artist.

Artworks

Growing inside by Karena Bravo

Karena Bravo

"The pandemic has been a very difficult time for all of us, we have been through moments of sadness, uncertainty, anger and hopelessness. Some of us are far away from our homes, and the pandemic made it hard to create a sense of belonging. I connected with some friends virtually and our conversations made me think about how each of us was experiencing something different during the lockdown and we also were trying to look after ourselves and stay positive. I decided that I wanted to document the experiences of women of colour because there was a common ground, being migrant or having migrant parents and also, speaking a language different from English and living in a multicultural city like Melbourne. My creative process consisted on interviewing these women asking them to share their experiences, to share how they take care of themselves during the lockdowns, also if they wanted to share a tip for self-care, and a recipe for something they enjoyed eating or drinking during that time. Additionally, I asked for a photo which in some cases I took and in other cases they send it to me. After having this information I started to create the illustrations based on the photos of each woman and lastly designed the book including the artwork and the information they shared."

Projects

Past project

Ahead of the Curve

Mon 19 Jul 2021 - Wed 31 Aug 2022

The Ahead of the Curve Commissions was a call out for young and emerging artists of colour living around Melbourne, to create new digital artworks that responded to social challenges, including COVID-19.

MAV has a profound commitment to arts and artists shaping the narratives that define who we are as a multicultural nation.

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With the deepest respect MAV acknowledges that we live, work and celebrate on unceded Aboriginal land. We thank all Elders, past and present, for their care, knowledge and generosity, as custodians of the world’s oldest continuing culture. We pledge our support towards truth telling, reparation and decolonisation. We open our hearts and minds to deep listening, learning, sharing and connecting – in solidarity with First Peoples here in Australia and around the world.