INES Magazina launches its first printed publication: Unyielding Bodies I. Theory, Practice, Feminisms, and Dissidences
Editor: Yohanna M. Roa
Bilingual Edition: English/Spanish
Book Cover – English & Spanish Editions. Cover images: María Evelia Marmolejo, Anonymous 1, Body art. Plazoleta del C.A.M., Cali, Colombia, 1981 Photo: Fabio Arango Courtesy of the artist
INES Magazina proudly announces the release of its first printed publication, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to fostering critical, feminist, and dissident narratives within the field of art. Titled Unyielding Bodies I. Theory, Practice, Feminisms, and Dissidences, this bilingual edition, edited by Yohanna M. Roa, brings together reflections, papers, and interventions that emerged from the seminar of the same name, held in June 2024 in Cali, Colombia.
This publication is the result of a collaborative effort between INES Magazina, the Fundación Humana Integral, and the Instituto Departamental de Bellas Artes, with generous support from the Cultural Area of the Banco de la República – Cali branch. It is part of a long-term project that seeks to challenge and transform how art is produced, studied, and exhibited through a feminist, decolonial, and queer lens.
From left to right: Alberto Campuzano, Dean of the Faculty of Visual Arts; Dayana Camacho, visual artist; Yohanna M. Roa, INES Magazina Editor. Detail from the book launch event. Photo by Ricardo Borrero.
A Book to Expand the Margins of Art
More than a simple compilation of academic papers, Unyielding Bodies I serves as an editorial platform that documents, amplifies, and makes visible the voices, bodies, and practices historically excluded from dominant art narratives. The book is organized into two main sections: one focused on theoretical frameworks that challenge the canon through feminist and decolonial perspectives, and another centered on artistic practices as forms of resistance and political action.
Contributors include scholars such as Karen Cordero Reiman, who explores feminist curating as a political tool; María del Pilar Vergel, who reflects on how feminist artists have used their bodies as tools of resistance against colonial and patriarchal structures. Leandra Plaza, who presents an archive of lesbian and dissident artists in Cali, and collectives like Viraje and A la Plaza, who recover public space interventions as acts of rewriting both territory and local memory.
Artists and academics shared their creative processes as acts of disobedience and re-existence, confronting the patriarchal, colonial, and racist systems that continue to shape the art world. The book brings together a diverse group of artists, scholars, and collectives whose practices and reflections shape its pages. Contributors include:
Academics: Annie Flores, Colectivo A la Plaza, Karen Cordero Reiman, Leandra Plaza Santa, María del Pilar Vergel, Melissa Reina Losada, Lorena Diez.
Artists: Alejandra Gutiérrez, Ángela Baena, Andrea Valencia, Carmen Espinosa, Claudia Patricia Sarria, Connie Gutiérrez, Dayana Camacho, Encuentro Anako-Punk, James Pame, Janeth Blanco,Laura Campaz, Luz Helena Villegas, Marcela Vallejo, Marcia Salas, María Evelia Marmolejo, Mónica Restrepo, Paula Agudelo, Salomé Rodríguez, Saro Pachón, Vanessa Quintero, Vivian Monsalve, Yohanna M. Roa.
An Editorial Commitment to Critical Thought and Collective Action
This book not only documents the seminar but also extends and deepens its debates, becoming a vital tool for reimagining art as a space of political agency and collective life. As editor Yohanna M. Roa writes in the introduction, the goal of the project is not merely to “include the excluded,” but rather to redefine the epistemological and political frameworks that have historically enabled their exclusion.
The release of Unyielding Bodies I also marks the beginning of a critical editorial line within INES Magazina, committed to dismantling hegemonic structures and creating new ways of understanding and practicing art through the bodies, memories, and genealogies that have long been silenced.
Official Launch: A Gathering of Knowledge and Affection
From left to right: Dayana Camacho, María del Pilar Vergel, Vivian Monsalve, Saro Pachón, and Connie Gutiérrez — artists and scholars featured in the book. Yohanna M. Roa, editor of the publication, during the launch of Unyielding Bodies.
The book was officially launched on September 30, 2025, at the Library of the Instituto Departamental de Bellas Artes (Cali). The event featured the book’s editor and director of INES Magazina, Yohanna M. Roa; the Dean of the Faculty of Visual Arts, Alberto Campuzano; and artist Dayana Camacho Rodríguez, a contributor to the publication.
It was a moment of shared celebration and reconnection, bringing together artists, scholars, and dissident voices whose work and thought are woven throughout the book. The event reaffirmed the affective, political, and transformative power of art in contexts of resistance and continued the conversations that began during the original seminar.
What is Next: Unyielding Bodies II (2025)
Unyielding Bodies I is just the first step in a larger, ongoing project. In 2025, the initiative continued with Unyielding Bodies II, led once again by Yohanna M. Roa, and featuring an exhibition, a workshop, and the second phase of the seminar. One of its central components was the curatorial project We Have Always Been Many, which brought together over 45 artists from multiple generations in Cali. This second edition further explored the intersections between theory, artistic practice, and activism, consolidating art as a critical and transformative force.
Availability
The book is available at libraries, cultural institutions, and through INES Magazina’s distribution channels. For details on sales, events, or upcoming activities, please visit our official website or follow us on social media.
