“There are some things that art and literature can do for us that other analytical tools cannot.”
This is the basis of my research. This is the statement that I plan to elaborate on for the rest of my professional journey. I chose The Clemente because I wanted to elaborate on the ways in which they promote and preserve Puerto Rican and Latinx culture. What possessed this cultural arts organization to become a household name? How did it begin to formulate its beginnings? The Clemente stands on pillars to cultivate, present, and preserve Puerto Rican and Latinx culture. They decide to do this through the guidelines of responsive arts, heritage conservation, and provocative collaboration. Responsive arts allow a multitude of connections and networks to develop as active participation and civic engagement are emphasized. In addition, heritage conservation pays homage to achievements accomplished past and present while underscoring diasporic heritage (theclemente.org). Art has the power to facilitate, fulfill, and maintain each of those tasks. Art can move people in ways unfathomable and able to translate into words. It is timeless and historical.
I had the opportunity to attend amazing installations at The Clemente that perfectly exemplified this statement. There was Good and Bad Government by Robert Birmelin, Stephen Petegorsky, Ram Rahman, and Paul Smith that spoke about political artwork and how it defined good government that can be viewed as bad government as well. There was Regla: Soul of a Community by Ashleigh Alexandria, Amberly Alene Ellis, Alexey El Tipo Este, and Jean Andre Antoinethat portrayed the broader scene of Regla, Havana’s Black community. There was En Communidad: Latinx Photography Now (Ahora) by Marilyn Montúfar, Enio Hernandez, and Vanessa Briones that characterized the multidimensional narrative of (im)migrant Latinx culture in the United States. Lastly I’ve been working closely with La Tierra Prometida by Brian Buckley that pays homage to Clemente Soto Velez’s poem. Also Transformations: Objects and Images in Relation Alicia Brown, Camille Chedda, Dominique Hunter , Katherine Kennedy, Tessa Mars, Sharon Norwood, Wendell McShine, Oneika Russell, and Petrina Dacres which explores themes and relationships between selfhood and transformation and image-making and objects. I am grateful to witness the creation and presentation of such incredibly rich spaces, I hope you enjoy the images in the Media gallery as much as I did.
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