Jana Leo Biography
Jana Leo (Madrid, 1965) is an artist and analyst of contemporary culture who has resided in the United States since 1997. She currently manages projects in both New York and Madrid. She holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a Master’s degree from the Princeton University School of Architecture. Invited by the prestigious architect Peter Eisenman, she taught at Cooper Union University in New York for seven years.
Her artistic and intellectual work analyzes society, its taboos, and repressions, showcasing the absurd ways in which we live. Through photography, video, and performance, her work connects the public sphere with the intimate realm. A significant portion of her creation focuses on the home and interpersonal relationships as a reflection of contemporary culture. Beginning in 2007, and driven by the massive changes transforming cities, Leo became particularly interested in tourism-related consumption, rezoning, and the turning of cities into theme parks. Another branch of her work focuses on the mechanisms of power and abuse, both institutional and personal. It is within this context that, since 2000, she has addressed rape as a form of not only emotional but also economic exploitation. Since 2015, she has focused on education as a key tool for rape prevention.
In 2009, she wrote the book *Rape New York*, which was originally written in English and published by the British publishing house Book Works in London. In 2011, her book reached the United States through Feminist Press in New York and, finally, in 2017, the publishing house Libros del Lince released it in Spain under the title *Violación Nueva York*. Her work exposes the psychology of the perpetrator and the cost of rape in the daily life of the victim. She has also published two other books: *El viaje sin distancia* (CENDEAC, Murcia 2006; reissued in 2014) and *I Condo New York* (Vitoria 2008).
In 2008, she established the MOSIS Foundation, a non-profit organization that has served as the vehicle allowing Jana to amplify the scale and scope of her projects.
http://fundacionmosis.com/
https://janaleo.com
www.rapenewyork.com
“NO VIOLARÁS” Team Bio
Jana Leo began forming the “No violarás” [Thou Shalt Not Rape] team in February 2018.
Actors:
Pablo Vega, is an actor who has spent over 15 years working on television series, including *Compañeros*, *Al salir de clase*, *Pelotas*, among others. Pablo Vega plays the rapist in *El portal*. While fitting into the masculine role of the perpetrator, he is deeply aware of the underlying reality and the necessity for a shift in roles (in the performance, Pablo voices the thoughts of the woman after suffering an assault).
Alexandra Pino, is a model and a young dramatic arts actress in training. Alexandra Pino plays the girl, the victim in the piece *La Novicia*, and is highly conscious of the abuse of power by those who hold it, whether they are men or women.
Paula Medina Irazabar, is an actress who has worked extensively in both theater and performance settings. In 2015, she created a performance titled “Violencia de género” [Gender-Based Violence] at Lajuangallery. In film, she appeared in Ramón Salazar’s *10,000 Nights Nowhere*. The novice nun character brings to light the grotesque nature of female abusers of young girls within the Catholic Church.
Irene Artal Domenech, is a young actress and singer. She trained as an actress at Cristina Rota and Central de Cine. In theater, she has performed in works such as *Sangre de Eduardo*, among others. “Having to restrain oneself in the face of harassment produces a silence and a noise, even when one is acting,” says Irene after recording *La Jauría*, in which she plays the victim.
Jorge Vázquez Moreno, studies Law and Economics at Universidad Carlos III and is the co-founder of Philos Sophiano. This is his first stage and video experience as an actor. He participates to raise awareness among men that one cannot act this way toward a woman under any circumstances. In *La Jauría*, he plays the guy who hits on the girl and delivers the “prey” to the rest of his friends.
Carlos de la Cerda, is currently finishing his Business Administration degree in Madrid, with a strong interest in music and the arts in general. Carlos maintains that the only way to avoid being sexist is to make a conscious effort not to be. In *La Jauría*, he plays the one who resists the peer pressure of the friend group and confronts the potential perpetrator in front of the camera.
Alberto Ester, is an actor. He studies at the Juan Carlos Corazza school and works as a commercial model and actor. In fiction, he is awaiting the premiere of a TVE series titled *Derecho a soñar*. Alberto plays one of the potential rapists in *La Jauría*, and his role is the most typical (most “manly”) and therefore the most problematic. As someone who understands human nature, he makes explicit how one can come to enjoy something they morally reject.
Marta Romero Navarro, is a theater, television, and film actress. In film, she has worked on *Red de libertad* and *Amigos*; in television, her credits include *Grand Nord*, *La que se avecina*, *Hospital Central*, *Gran Reserva*, *Homicidios*, *Pelotas*, *Infidels*, *El cor de la ciutat*, *Lo Cartanyà*, and *Niños robados*. In theater, she has performed in *Rigoletto*, *Autoindefinido*, *La Ruina*, and *Mientras tanto*. Marta serves as the narrator of *La Jauría*, being highly aware of the objectification of women in general, as well as in cinema and theater. Her performance strength brings life to an execution that is fundamentally reduced to reading a text.
Clara Fernández de Loaysa was responsible for casting. Formerly employed at the office of Ramón Pilaces—representative of Carmen Maura and Ángela Molina, among others—she served as a personal assistant to Álex de la Iglesia for a year and currently works as a talent agent.
Technical Team:
Óscar Villasante Ochoa, is a camera operator, director, and editor. His filmmaking career has focused heavily on documentaries. Óscar has been the most critical figure in this project; he was there reviewing the earliest versions of the script, during casting, rehearsals, filming, and finally editing the material. He is very easy to work with because he listens to others and uses criticism constructively rather than taking offense. We have been collaborating since 1990. He has two children and is fully up-to-date on the issues surrounding sex and violence among adolescents.
Álvaro Sánchez Casado is a sound recordist and musician. Working as a sound technician since 1994, he has experience in production sound mixing, backline technical work, sound design, and working as an ENG sound recordist and stage machinery operator. He works in advertising, fiction, reality shows, film, and TV. He is also a professional musician/drummer. Álvaro played a fundamental role in making the videos, given that a crucial element of them is the spoken word. Deeply sensitized to the project’s content, he provided a calm and professional presence throughout all recordings.
Simon Lund, is a film technician, camera operator, and director. He worked for the Spanish National Film Archive (Filmoteca Nacional) between 2008 and 2013, and is the executive director of Cineric, a film preservation and restoration facility in New York and Portugal. He has provided technical direction for works by various artists, including Hans Haacke at the MNCARS, and the film *Competition*. He is the technical director of the project, handling all camera logistics and post-production, including effects, cuts, output generation, subtitling, and website development.
Other Participants:
Silvia San Miguel, is a composer and pianist. She completed her composition studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. She composes multidisciplinary works such as *El Quijote*, *Homenaje al Bosque*, and *Lisztmanía*, among others, as well as scores for documentaries. In 2008, I collaborated with Silvia on *Cabaret inmobiliario*. Silvia composed the two songs used in *La Jauría*: Hombres perros [Dog Men] and Opinión Pública culpable [Guilty Public Opinion]. The upbeat melody stands in sharp contrast to the activist lyrics.
Isaac Alberto Sánchez Martín, is a self-taught musician. He is a bassist and guitarist for various bands in Madrid and a composer of soundtracks for short films and other projects https://soundcloud.com/isaac_in/sets. Isaac composed the music for the piece La Novicia; its dark texture captures the claustrophobic sensation of being trapped in that situation.
Celina Alvarado, worked as a self-promotion producer for the launch of Canal+ España. She completed the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (2009) in New York. She works as a UX consultant and has been an associate professor of New Advertising and Filmmaking at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid since 2015. Celina worked as a personal assistant providing support across different stages of the project to improve the videos. We have been collaborating since the nineties.
Isabel Leo de Blas, is a teacher with over twenty-five years of experience in public school classrooms. She creates children’s theater with students aged 10 to 16. She studied theater, philosophy, and languages (English and French). She is an amateur actress in the ARGEA theater group in Hervás. Thought, combined with the imagination of theater, serves as a tool to find oneself and change the world. In 2018 in Tangier, she won the award for set design and direction in children’s theater. Isabel made the pigskin dress that I designed for *La Novicia*, which became the icon of the “No violarás” campaign.
Jimena del Carmen González is a dressmaker. She creates wardrobe items based on conceptual ideas and has worked for designers in fashion shows. I have been working with Jimena on various projects since 2018. Jimena made the tissue paper dress for the scene of *La Jauría* in the performance.
Administration:
Sergio Tombesi, holds an Economics degree from the University of Kent and has been the administrator of the MOSIS Foundation since 2018. He has managed the entire administrative side of the “No violarás” project, from its initial budget to the final reporting phase.
Marketing and Dissemination:
Beatriz Lucas is a journalist specializing in education. She has worked for national and international media outlets such as *El País*, CNNenespanol.com, and *Vice*, served as editor-in-chief at the daily newspaper *ADN*, and is currently the coordinator of educational projects and programs at the M21 School Station of the Madrid City Council. She is an associate professor at Universidad Carlos III. Bea has followed and supported this project for over ten years; in fact, her involvement was pivotal in ensuring that *Rape New York*, which was originally published in English, was published in Spain.
Eva Brunner is a journalist specializing in International Information who has worked in Spain, Guatemala, England, Colombia, and Ecuador for both Spanish and international media. She always writes from a gender perspective. She joined the team in June with the aim of bringing these artworks to educational institutions.
