About Gerardo
Gerardo Gacharná Ramírez* (given name "Gerardo" and family names "Gacharná Ramírez") works in the human and social sciences, having several years of experience as a teacher. Regarding origami, he has been seriously dedicated to this art-form since 2010. He currently has around 80 models of his own design. Some have been included in publications from Spain, England, and the United States. He had founded the Neorigami collaborative blog and co-founded the Mini Neo e-fanzine. He ran the Inter-forum Useful Model Challenge in 2012, and edited the book Practigami the year after that. Now he runs the United to Fold and Foldeas activities, as well as the Diálogos Origámicos online group. Gerardo has mainly created a wide variety of practical models, including different types of containers, but has also created figurative and conceptual models. With his conceptual works, he has participated in different art calls, for example, the 2021 Revela art exhibition in his country, Colombia. Gerardo's editorial "Would a Kawasaki Rose by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?" was added to The Fold e-zine in 2018, and in 2020, his paper "Between human and folded bodies: Examples of affection and care in Bogotá" was included in a social sciences journal. Aside from that, he was selected as one of the special guests for the next Origami Bogotá convention.
Gerardo's goal/dream: to be a special guest at foreign in-person conventions.
Gerardo's resume
More than 100 hours of experience in origami workshops both in-person and online.
Awards & Honors
Special guest of Origami Bogotá 2022 (Colombia).
16th and 23rd places in the mixed media category of the Revela 2021 art contest, Bogotá (Colombia).
Groups
Origami Authors & Creators, as a member.
Community for Creators, as a member and part of the CfC3 Bogotá organizing committee.
OrigamiUSA, as a member and the COGs (Community Origami Groups) online coordinator.
Presentations
De Cajas y Sobres: Origami y el Diseño Industrial de Empaques, at World Origami Days Festival, by the Bolivian Origami Society in 2021.
Of Boxes & Envelopes: Origami and Industrial Packaging Design, for Foldeas: Sharing Ideas Through Origami in 2021.
Creating through the Frankensteinian Method in Origami, self-managed through Zoom in 2020.
Workshops at international events
Locking Paper Bag at the Origami World Marathon OWM3, in 2022.
Lady of Fashion (envelope variation), original version created by Kunihiko Kasahara, at ORIFOLD Creasing Together - 2022, by Origami Oritai (India).
Wooden Box as a guest instructor at Origami Groep Eindhoven in 2022.
Bento Box at the Practical | Puzzle | Play Origami Convention (POC1), by Origami & Beyond in 2022.
Two-Pocket Envelope at VCon Spring, by the British Origami Society BOS in 2022.
Balance at Origami Connect Winter/Spring, by OrigamiUSA in 2022.
Three Origami Ways to Divide into Thirds and 2 x 2 Envelope at Online Origami Day, by Origami Deutschland (Germany) in 2021.
Boxed Fortune Teller at VCon Autumn, by the British Origami Society BOS in 2021.
Bookend at the Origami World Marathon OWM2, in 2021.
A variation of Box with Lid 2, original version created by Philip Shen, for FUNDAPROMAT (Foundation for the Promotion of Mathematics - Panama) in 2020.
Diagrams
Shopping bag in Mini Neo; a fanzine in 2014.
Fireplace Bellows in Practigami; a book from 2013.
Grabber in Practigami.
Nativity Stable in Origami for Christmas; a book by BOS in Great Britain, 2013.
Graciela's Toilet in Pajarita 2013 Convention Book; from AEP in Spain.
Thin Two-colored Pocket in Origami Collection 2012; a convention book by OrigamiUSA.
Books & Articles
Between human and folded bodies: Examples of affection and care in Bogotá in Hojas y Hablas #20; an academic journal specialized in social sciences, in July-December 2020.
How to Better Display Folds at Origami Conventions a Community for Creators resource, in 2020.
Moderu no namae or kashō hyōka shinaide kudasai in Origami Tanteidan #171; a magazine from Japan in 2018.
Would a Kawasaki Rose by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? in The Fold; an electronic magazine in 2018.
¡Enseñar a Párvulos su Primer Modelo no es Sencillo! in 4 Esquinas: Revista Latinoamericana de Origami #24; in 2018.
Practigami; a book in 2013.
Also, find some original articles on the corresponding section, here on neorigami.com
Exhibitions
Revela art exhibition, as one of the winners of the mixed-media category, in Bogotá, Colombia in 2021.
Exhibitions in Confinement, on the Facebook page of Carta Abierta art gallery, 2020.
Origami Survival 2020 - "The Search for Meaning" online gallery, on the Facebook page of the Croatian Origami Society.
Solo exhibition, at the Colombian School of Design and Arts ESDIART in 2015.
Interviews
Interview with an Expert–Gerardo Gacharná, interview by Leyla Torres for Origamigos, the OrigamiSpirit membership, in 2021.
Gerardo Gacharná: Useful models from Colombia, interview by Juan Arriagada for Mini Neo; a fanzine in 2012.
Other projects
Foldeas (founder): Hands-on presentations related to origami with international guest-speakers, through Zoom; since 2020.
United to Fold - UnFold (founder): International folding gatherings through Zoom; since 2020.
Diálogos Origámicos: a Spanish-language online group for conversing about and sharing origami; since 2020.
For FlyIt4ward: An original model (figure) for the NGO Miracle Flights fundraising campaign; in May 2016.