MARIA CHÁVEZ

Born in Lima, Peru and based in NYC, Maria Chávez is best known as an abstract turntablist, sound artist, and DJ. Accidents, coincidence, and failures are themes that unite her sound sculptures, installations and other works with her improvised solo turntable performance practice. Maria was thought to be deaf until the age of three when her family came to Austin, Texas and doctors at the University of Texas removed the water from her ears allowing her to hear her first sounds.

She was chosen to be a composer fellow with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Umbertide, Italy, and is currently a research fellow with the Sound Practice Research Department of Goldsmith’s University of London until fall of 2017. She will also be an arts fellow with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2017. Her work is published and is featured at art museums, festivals and on radio world-wide including previously at MoMA, MoMA PS1, the Villa Romana Festival (Italy), and Museo Centre de Carmen (Valencia, Spain). She was an artist in residence with CEC Artslink Back Apartment Residency in St. Petersburg, Russia, has presented sound installation/ performance works for the JUDD Foundation (Marfa, Texas) and will present a new radio sonic art piece for Every Time a Ear di Soun as part of DOCUMENTA 14 in Kassel, Germany this year.

mariachavez.org