Talia Méndez Mahecha
Talia Méndez, also known as "Tata," is a PhD candidate in Information and Media Studies at Western University, Canada. She holds a Master's degree in Hispanic Studies from Western University. Méndez is a specialist in Multimedia Communication and Industrial Design. She is also a consultant in Human-Centered Design in Colombia, which has allowed her to work with the Comisión de la Verdad de Colombia [Colombian Truth Commission], Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia [National Library of Colombia], Ministry of Culture of Colombia, and the Archivo Musical de Palenque [Musical Archive of Palenque] (Colombia), among other institutions. For more than a decade, she has been exploring the intersection of media and memory through the creation of digital artifacts, thus consolidating her professional career in various cultural institutions. Her passion for human-centred design has driven her to delve into the fields of research-creation, collaborative design, and digital humanities. Currently, Méndez collaborates with the digital music archive of the Surviving Memory project, and her main study utilizes research-creation to explore the role of music as a cultural expression in war experiences. She also collaborates with the project's women’s committee and with the martyr’s book (Arcatao) and facilitates workshops on digital memory.