Gala Porras-Kim

Gala Porras-Kim is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice examines the institutional frameworks that shape cultural heritage and the interpretation of historical objects. Working across drawing, sculpture, installation, and text, she engages with museum collections and archaeological materials to explore how meaning, context, and value are constructed over time. Her research-based projects often focus on artifacts held in museum storage, using speculative methods to question the ethics of conservation, display, and repatriation.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Porras-Kim has had solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, among others. Her work has been included in international exhibitions such as the Gwangju Biennale and the São Paulo Biennial. She has received fellowships and awards from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Creative Capital, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. Porras-Kim holds an MFA from CalArts and an MA in Latin American Studies from UCLA.