Biography
Niurca Márquez (she/ella), MFA, is a movement artist/researcher and author. As a trained somatic educator, she uses her body-centered work to service communities undergoing processes of healing and self-realization. A Latinx artist and activist on the margins advocating for silenced voices, she is particularly interested in notions of identity, cultural memory, ritual and the body within a contemporary framework, as well as the multiple layers of communication and understanding in movement practices that lead to liaisons with political and social discourse.
Niurca is the recipient of numerous awards for both her artistic creation and her research including: Dance Miami Choreographer’s Award (2015 and 2017), Gillman Fellowship in Choreography for Graduate Studies (2015-2017), two Ford Foundation Travel Grant for Research in Cuba granted through the Cuban Research Institute and the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University (1998 and 1999).
She has various publications on contemporary flamenco, dance sustainability and identity politics in movement practices. Her current research includes an examination of the use of collage (and it’s affiliated approaches) as a methodology for composition when working in hybrid forms to explore how we can evidence the process in performance on various platforms, as well as, transculturality, hybridity and mestisaje as they pertain to expressions of identity and the moving body.
Niurca directs Cultural Arts Exchange, an organization dedicated to artist services and programs centered on social accountability. She is an Assistant Teaching Professor with a joint appointment in the Honors College and Department of Religious Studies. She is also the COIL Faculty Fellow for the Honors College and a LACC Affiliated Faculty.
For more information about her artistic research, please visit: www.niurcamarquez.com