Natalia Parra-Sierra

I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, South America, and I am a dual Colombian and New Zealand citizen. I am the middle sister of 3 daughters, both of my parents were educators in the public sector, and they are both semi-retired now. I attended the same school from age eight until 17, and it was a school with an experimental educational ideology. I consider my school friends to be members of my extended family. The 1980's and 1990's were a difficult period for Colombia and the Colombian people, because of the complex civil unrest and conflict between the government and the various drug cartels. Even though this didn't directly affect my family, or me it was still a very tense and dangerous time to live. However we were determined that life go on as normal, and I spent a lot of time in the countryside, walking from farm to farm with groups of friends and other children, and it was still safe to walk around the city streets in the evenings.

I started studying Social Science in one of the public universities, in 1996, however I realised that this wasn't my thing, and in 1997, I started to study towards a degree in fine arts, in a private university. After finishing the first three semesters, I left Colombia to live in Helsinki, Finland for a year, on a cultural exchange, where I worked teaching art in a school for disabled children.

I returned to Colombia in 1999, to continue my studies in fine art, and I graduated in 2002. Later that year, I went to New Zealand to live, and I had a number of exhibitions in Wellington. I returned to Colombia in 2005, and I had a successful solo exhibition in Bogotá, and I worked children in an impoverished area of the city. The situation in Colombia has changed, but there are still many signs of violence. Although the drug cartels have been eliminated, the violence between the government, illegal Para-military groups (many of which are financed or supported by politicians), guerrillas and marginalized groups continues to destabilize society. US funded attempts to eradicate the drug trade has lead to a higher level of violence, as most of the aid from the United States is in the form of weapons and other military equipment.

I am currently a full time artist, experimenting with the amalgamation of painting with printmaking. My current works explores everyday life, and the movement of people in city environments.

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http://artistadecolombia.blogspot.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalia_Karenka_Parra_Sierra

http://www.artelista.com/id-english/autor.php?a=7082706275144619