TIERRA FUTURA: Boricua Land Futures‍ ‍

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TIERRA FUTURA: Boricua Land Futures‍ ‍ *

A solo exhibition by Shey Rivera Ríos and group exhibition of 22 Boricua artists from Puerto Rico and its U.S. diasporas.

TIERRA FUTURA: Boricua Land Futures

TIERRA FUTURA brings together Boricua (Puerto Rican) artists from the archipelago of Borikén (Puerto Rico) and its diasporas across the U.S. whose practices imagine, remember, and materialize Boricua futurity rooted in ancestral knowledge and cultural sovereignty. These works contain stories of land-based memory, Boricua rural identity, eco-feminisms, relationship between body and land, queer Boricua joy, cultural rituals, and tributes to significant artistic, political, and familial ancestors. Many of the artists are also founders and leaders of alternative art spaces, land sovereignty projects, and other cultural initiatives that restore and nourish culture and connection to ancestral practices. TIERRA FUTURA is cultural ritual that becomes art practice, and invites us to contemplate what it means to build abundant diasporic futures.

This exhibition is a physical exploration of the research TIERRA FUTURA: Submerged Archives of Boricua Futurity, by Shey Rivera Ríos, 2023.

“This exhibition is very special. It is a sample of artists across Borikén (Puerto Rico) and the U.S. who create works that depict culturally-rooted Boricua life and futures beyond assimilation. The artworks are vessels that hold both new and ancestral knowledge of connection to self, land, and lineage. We invite our communities across New England to experience this exhibition, unlock the stories and wisdoms held within these artworks, and join us in our celebration of cultural power, self-determination, and fierce beauty.” says Shey Rivera Ríos, curator and exhibiting artist.

Exhibiting Artists: Shey Rivera Ríos, Adaira Rojas Santana and Edalys González Clemente, Angélica Rivera Reyes, Anabel Vázquez Rodríguez, Brenda Torres-Figueroa, Candida González, Colectivo Moriviví, Damaris Cruz, Elisa Dore, Grechel Rosado, Jo Cosme, Lares Feliciano, Leenda Bonilla, Lilliam Nieves, Linda Fernández, Lydia Pérez Nieves, Mariana Ramos Ortiz, Michelle Falcón Fontanez, Rosa Colón, Santi Pérez García, Yolanda Velázquez-Vélez, and Vero Rivera.

Curatorial Team: Shey Rivera Ríos (Studio Loba) and Anabel Vázquez Rodríguez. Designs & Communications by Ruchika Nambiar.

Partners and Sponsors: Interlace Grant Fund, a regranting partner of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, RISD SPUR Fund, WaterFire Arts Center, iolabs, Providence Picture Frame Company, and the Puerto Rican Institute for Arts and Advocacy.

TIERRA FUTURA is an effort to invest in and showcase Puerto Rican artists, businesses, cultural and land justice projects. Special thank you to Little Sister restaurant for providing delicious Puerto Rican food during our opening reception, as well as Arte Latino New England, who tabled at the exhibition with a Jíbaro Cabezudo and Puerto Rican coffee stand. STUDIO LOBA also wishes to thank Casa Pueblo and Cooperative de Mujeres Caficultoras for providing their delicious home-grown coffees that financially support their land justice and solar sovereignty work.