Marcela Moraga

‘What happens in the sky, happens on earth. Cosmology of an oasis’

The project explores the cultural heritage of the Lickanantay oasis culture in the Atacama Desert, which is threatened by the extractive industry and overshadowed by the international astronomical facilities in the region. The Lickanantay oasis is analysed as a technological opportunity to link astronomy with economic and socio-cultural activities, such as the diversification of crops through cooperative rather than invasive methods. On the other hand, the universal cosmological heritage that modern astronomy has built up through its own scientific advances, translations and the storage of information is explored. 

Marcela Moraga earned both her BA and MA in Fine Arts from the University of Chile. She later pursued postgraduate studies in audiovisual communication at the HFBK University of Fine Arts Hamburg and completed an MA in Art in Context at the Berlin University of the Arts. Through her drawings, textiles, and video performances, Marcela Moraga investigates the tensions inherent in the nature-culture binary. Her work features rivers, animals, mountains, plants, and communities impacted by extractive practices as central figures. Employing speculative narratives and fictional methods, informed by spirituality and indigenous knowledge, Moraga creates new stories that foster connections between humans and non-humans. Her work has been exhibited in numerous spaces, including Kunstraum Pavillon am Milchhof (2025, DE), Museo Palacio Pereira (2024/25, CL), Haus am Lützowplatz (2024, DE)

Galerie Durchgang (2023, CH), Kunstverein Braunschweig (2022/23, DE), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (2022, DE), nGbK Berlin (2021, DE), Espacio Rozenstraat (2021, NL), Villa Romana (2020, IT), Loop Festival Barcelona (2020, ES), and the Bienal de Nuevos Medios Santiago (2015, CL). She has been awarded several prestigious grants from organizations such as Villa Romana e.V., the Senate of Berlin, the Goethe Institute, nGbK Berlin (Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst), and FONDART (Fondo Nacional para el Desarrollo Cultural y las Artes).

In 2024, Moraga was selected for the Connect Chile a cooperative residency between Arts at CERN and the MIM Science Museum in Santiago, Chile.