Shey ‘Ri Acu’ Rivera Ríos

Artist – Writer – Cultural Worker

Photo by Cat Laine, Painted Foot Studio

Shey Rivera Ríos

A social practice and performance artist who creates digital and physical altars that interrupt colonial memory and reimagine land futures.

Rivera’s work is interdisciplinary; using photographic annotations, performance, digital art, and installation to create a mejunje (mix) where magical realism and science fiction become doors to decolonial futures.

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  • Tierra Futura: Submerged Archives of Boricua Futurity (2024)

    Master’s thesis at RISD, studying the Puerto Rican jíbaro and how art and creative practice can contribute to narratives of both subjugation and self determination.

    Watch Thesis Presentation

  • AntigonX (2022)

    A queer, Latinx story inspired by the Greek tragedy of Antigone, created by Shey Rivera Ríos and directed by Jackie Davis.

    Photo by Erin X Smithers

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  • Fantasy Island (2017)

    Dismantling Colonial Fantasies About Puerto Rico, in this installation, the island “miracle” that’s marketed to mainland American consumers is simulated and détourned.

    Read Hyperallergic Article

  • MoralDocs

    A virtual reality AfroFuturist narrative about abolition and health justice, MoralDocs is a transmedia story that reimagines public safety as public health.

    Visit Portal

LATEST

The ‘Everything Living Fights Back’ Exhibit

Featuring artists Shey Ri Acu Rivera Ríos, Feda Eid, Luana Morales, this was a reconfiguration of the exhibit ‘Nothing Living Lives Alone’ and its cancellation and censorship by Providence College.

May 31 – Jun 16, 2024

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