We recently connected with Nadia Bautista and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nadia, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

My name is Nadia Bautista and I have been a photographer for about 13 years.
I started this path by taking digital photos and publishing them on a social network called Flickr. At that time it was the most popular way to share your work and get feedback from different people around the world. I can say that thanks to this social network, today I have great friends from different parts of the world.
One of the kindest things that happened was when I met Sebastian Cvitanic.
After following each other and admiring each other’s work for many years and exchanging messages, one day he wrote to me to tell me that he would visit Argentina, the country where I am from and was currently living.
My joy was enormous, after so many years of maintaining an online friendship, it would finally move on to real life.
We met in a café, and we talked a lot. Our conversations were always about photography, politics and music.
And one of the best feedbacks I have ever had in my life was from him, he told me that I should take analog photos, that my work needed it. I had no idea that I would take analog photos because it requires a lot of patience, dedication, money and time.
Sebastián, with a gesture that I will never forget, gave me a Pentax K1000 35mm camera that I still have.
Since that day I have not stopped taking analog photos and I always felt that it was a before and after in my work.
Today I am faithful to the medium format, 120mm and I will never forget the incredible gesture that Sebastián had, making me feel not only that someone supported my work but also helped me to make it grow.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a visual artist and have been working as a photographer for 13 years.
I address different triggers that are part of my life, such as dissidence, queerness, race, gender, generations and relationships.
My work is analogue, I work with medium format in 120mm. And I explore different forms of presentation.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think that society can help by becoming aware of the importance of creative work in the world and of the inequality that exists in the same environment. Not only by supporting projects but by trying to make everything fairer, creating rights, spaces and also places where access to them is not a privilege, but a reality for anyone.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I am motivated by people, those around me and the reality I grew up in. Becoming aware of my identity as a Latina migrant has helped me approach my projects from that perspective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://misscomplejo.format.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misscomplejo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misscomplejo

Image Credits

Models:

@grgiarae
@valeriadivinorum
@canfacu
@helensara
@sendhealedpics
@theromarioss
@delfinamartinezuy
@eliana.orquidea
@charlyvelascoooo
@juja.alberti