Ana María Chavez is a media artist, curator and events producer currently living in Salvador, Brazil. She holds a B.F.A from the Rhode Island School of Design and is an M.A. graduate of Performance Studies from NYU. Critical to her development as an artist and curator, while at RISD she developed the position of Cultural Programmer for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, curating over fifteen performance-based events for Contemporary Performing Arts, Civil & Human Rights, Black History, and Women’s Focus months. These continue to be used as program models at RISD to foster a multicultural and inclusive community. Chavez took her activism and curating to Massachusetts, where she served as a lead organizer of Queer Women of Color Boston (QWOC+), a grassroots organization dedicated to creating safe spaces for LGBTQ people of color.

While at NYU, Ana met Tiffany in the Performance Studies MA program where they traveled together to Chiapas, MX for an Arts and Resistance course and first started collaborating. Since then, Ana has worked closely with Tiffany to develop her Hanan logo designs and communications. What´s been most exciting about this collaboration for Ana has been the trajectory the designs have taken and seeing Tiffany´s programs and projects continue to grow in the U.S. and Cuba. Ana´s practice as a Hatha and Vinyasa yoga instructor and work to explore the body has also been fundamental to understanding the work Tiffany is doing and designing from a similar perspective.

Before moving to Brazil, Ana is worked with the Instituto Brasileiro-Equatoriano de Cultura (IBEC) to produce a Brazilian music festival called A Saudade Tem Som which translates to Nostalgia Has a Sound. Local musical artists can be seen from September 2018 to February 2019 in monthly concerts that celebrate Brazil´s large array of genres. The festival looks to promote Brazilian culture, the Portuguese language, and IBEC´s cultural programs. As a curator, scholar, and visual artist she is most interested right now in innovating platforms for artists and the use of social media to identify and create these spaces that bring together artists and the public. Ana is currently working with musical artists in Brazil and Cabo Verde on the launch of a new album for Afroponcho and the launch of a documentary featuring Tambores do Mundo, a world-renowned percussion group based in Bahia. You can find out more about this work at https://www.instagram.com/afroponcho/ .