Nadia Hernández, a Venezuelan-born artist now based in Melbourne, has created a multidisciplinary installation titled "Para verte mejor, en todo tiempo" (To see you better, at all times) currently on view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The work traces the history of Venezuelan protest music, incorporating a textile collage, a soundscape, and a site-specific mural. Hernández, who won the Grace Cossington Smith Art Award in 2021 and was a finalist for the Ramsay Art Prize and Sulman Prize in 2023, began this project two years ago as an evolving archive of protest songs, building on earlier iterations shown at the Oslo Freedom Forum, TarraWarra Biennial, and Art Basel Hong Kong.
The project matters because it connects the Venezuelan diaspora to their cultural heritage through art, especially as many, including Hernández, are unable to return home due to the country's repressive political regime. By highlighting Venezuela's strong tradition of protest music—from gaita and salsa to punk—Hernández preserves and amplifies political expression that has been central to Venezuelan identity. The work also underscores how contemporary art can serve as a platform for documenting resistance and fostering community among displaced populations.