Santiago ECHEVERRY
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Artist's Statement

I grew up in Bogotá, Colombia, a city where drug lords were blowing up buildings and people with drugs and bombs, AIDS was killing my friends and death squads were threatening my life for being openly gay. Instead of seeking cover, I became a very visible New Media artist promoting change in my surroundings through video art, documentaries, performances and political activism.

I moved to New York just as the Internet was beginning to expand and I immediately used the Web as a creative tool where all my art practice would come together, with a global component that was previously unavailable to me. The Internet has become the perfect tool to explore my passion for non-linear filmmaking, digital poetry, cyber-activism, programming, photography, animation and interactive narration.

In a more secure environment, but still struggling with prevailing discrimination and intolerance, my work has progressively evolved into a study of the nature of memory. My current interactive projects explore the fragility of life, the effects of media on our experiences and the nature of digital empathy. My recent objects and prints use fragments of my own body – both real and digital - that examine the impact of my brother's murder in my life.

My personal experiences, which include being the founder of the Sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence in Colombia, being an Alien with Extraordinary Abilities, appearing in drag in the cover of an international art magazine and being accused of terrorism, have certainly shaped the way I approach my work and my self-expression in general. Without humor, conviviality, authenticity and a little bit of disruption there can be no transformation. I believe in leaving a long lasting impact in those who meet me.

I started teaching when I was 23 years old and I have not stopped since then. It is the only way for me to stay active as an artist and to grow simultaneously with my students. I respect them and consider them as my future colleagues, and I know I am there to let them evolve in whichever direction they need to go. This is not only beneficial for the individuals themselves but also for the institution in a long-term perspective.

As a member of a community, I believe in the principles of respect, loyalty, pride and support. And those are the principles I vow to instill amongst my students and peers. 		La Vie en Rose • 2013
Santiago Echeverry is a Colombian New Media and Digital Artist with a background in Film and Television production. Thanks to the Fulbright Grant he received his Master's degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU. He moved to the USA in 2003 to teach Interactivity at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC, and then relocated to Florida in the Fall of 2005 to teach Digital Arts and Interactive Media at the University of Tampa . He started exhibiting internationally in 1992, and his research interests are non-linear narration, video-art, performance art, interactive design and web experimentation, never forgetting his commitment to Gay and Lesbian Human Rights.


Santiago Echeverry es egresado de la primera promoción de la Carrera de Cine y Televisión de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Desde muy temprano se dedicó a la exploración de las posibilidades creativas del video, la performancia y las tecnologías digitales, exhibiendo sus obras desde 1989. En 1995 obtuvo la beca Fulbright y recibió su Maestría en Telecomunicaciones Interactivas en NYU. Se especializó en producción y programación de sitios web y desde entonces se ha dedicado a diseñar proyectos en línea profesional y artísticamente. Reside en los EEUU desde 2003, en donde se ha concentrado principalmente en el desarrollo de videos e instalaciones interactivas, participando en festivales internacionales tales como Siggraph, FILE y el Japan Media Arts Festival, entre otros. Actualmente es Profesor Asociado de Arte Digital en la Universidad de Tampa, en la Florida, y Profesor Visitante en la Especialización en Creación Multimedia de la Universidad de Los Andes, en Bogotá.