Bio

Kinga Araya was born in Poland. As an art history student at the Catholic University in Lublin (KUL) she defected in Florence, Italy in 1988, literally walking away from the trip. Araya immigrated to Canada in 1990 where she pursued her education and launched her career as an artist and art historian.
Araya earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History and Fine Arts (BFA) from the University of Ottawa and Master’s in Fine Arts (MFA) from York University. At Concordia University in Montreal she obtained a PhD in both Art History and Visual Arts.
After teaching art history and studio arts for fifteen years in North America, she moved to Rome, Italy in 2010 to pursue her artistic and academic research projects.

Works

Artist Statement

  • 2003
  • Kinga Araya

Formally the video refers to the photographic series showing prostitutes from the red light district in New Orleans made in 1912 by the American artist E.J. Bellocq. These photographed figures often turned away from the lens and had their faces blurred or veiled. Araya’s use of primary color also refers to her artistic beginnings as a painter.

Artist Statement

National Anthem

  • 2002
  • Kinga Araya

Artistical deconstruction of two politically charged texts : the Canadian National Anthem (in English and French) and the Polish one. Can a woman aspire to and acquire a perfect pronunciation of the political texts that were mainly created by men?

National Anthem