Since its inception, Paola Dávila's artistic work has used photography as a means to investigate, through the creation of images, books, and installations, the meaning of “dwelling.” Whether depicting houses, burrows, landscapes, or journeys on a map, her images question the conditions that determine the cultural and social occupation of spaces. Public or private, these spaces are always associated with affection: with the intimate, concrete, and sensitive experience of being-in-the-world. With 13 solo exhibitions and more than 60 group exhibitions in Mexico and abroad, Paola Dávila has received, among other recognitions, the Photography Biennial (Mexico, 2021) and Visual Arts (Yucatán, 2012) awards, the Tierney N.Y. (2010), Artist Residencies (Salzburg, 2014 and Banff, 2009) and Young Creators (FONCA 2003, 2006 and 2011). She has been a member of the National System of Creators since 2020. His work is part of the collections of MUAC, the EPO Foundation, the Tierney Foundation, the Museo Universitario del Chopo, the National Photo Library, and the Manuel Álvarez Bravo Photography Center, among others.
During her residency at Hotel El Ganzo in collaboration with INARI MARU, Paola Dávila developed a performative and reflective exploration of the San José del Cabo Estuary and the emotional cartographies that shape the experience of inhabiting a place. Working primarily through photography and its expanded forms, her practice investigates the meaning of “dwelling” and the intimate relationship between space, memory, and presence.As part of the residency, Dávila presented La orilla es horizonte, an exhibition showcasing the processes and investigations developed during her time in Baja California Sur. The project unfolded as an inquiry into interior landscapes and the ways personal and collective experiences reverberate through physical environments. She also led Habitar el interior y otras cartografías, a practical workshop centered on the representation of interior space and its echoes into the outside world, inviting participants into a shared process of observation, reflection, and embodied creation.
As part of her residency at Hotel El Ganzo in collaboration with INARI MARU, artist Paola Dávila invited the community into a collective exploration of what it means to inhabit a place—both physically and emotionally.Through her artistic practice, which centers on photography and its expanded possibilities, Dávila examines the cultural, social, and personal relationships we build with the spaces around us. During her residency, this inquiry extended to the Estero de San José del Cabo, encouraging reflection on our connection to local ecosystems, memory, and belonging.As part of the Impact Project program, she led the workshop Habiting the Interior and Other Cartographies, where participants used personal photographs to create small-scale models representing their homes, safe spaces, and places of emotional significance. Through conversation, making, and storytelling, the workshop became a space for collective reflection on identity, care, and the ways we shape—and are shaped by—the environments we inhabit.By bringing artists and community members together, Impact Projects foster meaningful dialogue around social, cultural, and environmental themes, transforming artistic practice into a tool for awareness, connection, and collective imagination.
