Dr. Mariana Wardwell

Biography

Mariana Razo Wardwell, professionally known as Mariana Botey, is an art historian, curator, and artist based in Mexico City. She serves as a Professor in the Latin American Modern and Contemporary Art program at the University of California, San Diego, where she also teaches Art History, Theory, and Criticism. Botey earned her Ph.D. in Visual Studies with an emphasis on Critical Theory from the University of California, Irvine in 2010. Her work significantly influences the fields of Latin American art, decolonial studies, and indigenous visual culture, focusing on themes such as modernism, epistemic violence, and postcolonial conditions. Botey's landmark study, "Zonas de Disturbio: Espectros del México Indígena en la Modernidad" (2014), has positioned her as a key figure in interdisciplinary scholarship, connecting Art History, Film Theory, Visual Studies, Philosophy, and Ethnic Studies. She has facilitated critical dialogues as the academic director of the Zonas de Disturbio seminar at the University Museum of Contemporary Art at UNAM from 2009 to 2011 and served as a research fellow at CENIDIAP-INBA. Notably, in 2022, she was appointed as Creative Director and Co-curator for the Mexican Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Biennale Architettura. Her contributions to ongoing dialogue in contemporary visual culture emphasize indigenous subaltern perspectives and challenge conventional narratives. Botey's art and research consistently reflect her commitment to postcolonial theory, social justice, and creative expression in both her scholarly and artistic endeavors.

Research Interests