Travesía Artística (Artistic Voyage)

Hi, my name is Lorie; I am a NYC-based artist and cultural advocate. I first created this blog in 2015 as a means of documenting my experience as a student of a community arts program in Puerto Rico with CCCADI. The blog has lived on, documenting my experiences in NYC and beyond, participating in artful events, and maintaining threads of community arts, social justice, EDI and the Puerto Rican diaspora. Thank you for your interest in my Travesía Artística! I hope to hear from you.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Art in the City of Dreams

Reynaldo Castro's living artwork interacting with paintings by Antonio Oliveira at ArtNight. Photo by Maria Moreno.

A few weeks ago, my good friend Maria Moreno, who happens to be a great photographer , asked me if I would like to have my art included in an event called ArtNight. As it turns out, ArtNight is an annual event that's been put on by the Marriott hotel brand SpringHill Suites at their various locations throughout the US and Canada since 2010. The purpose of ArtNight is to give exposure to local artists and engage hotel guests, giving them a glimpse into the city's art scene - while "demonstrating the brand's dedication to design and style" (their words, not mine). This ArtNight, entitled, "Art in the City of Dreams," would take place on Tuesday, October 13th at their Midtown Manhattan location. The invited artists, besides Maria and myself were Antonio Oliveira, Lorenzo Sanjuan and Reynaldo Castro (as well as musical performers Joselyn Salomon, and Elizabeth Soychak & the Pleasure). As for my part, I figured (based on the theme, Art in the City of Dreams) that I could show paintings that had a dreamlike quality, of which I have a few - I picked three older pieces, along with a new one that I had already begun making for my Puerto Rico series.

It was a gorgeous fall evening for our ArtNight. Being an event organizer myself, it felt strange and wonderful to just show up and not have to do any work (thank you Gina!). To my surprise when I walked in, the band was playing live harp and violin (classy!). The artwork was displayed really well, transforming the hotel lobby into an interesting art space. The paintings by Antonio Oliveira, Lorenzo Sanjuan and Reynaldo Castro looked great alongside Maria's narrative photo story, and my paintings too. The surprise of the evening was when Reynaldo came out to complete his painting on a naked lady! Once his work was done, she (a living piece of art) moved around the room interacting with the people and the artwork for the remainder of the night. Being that the room was full of friends and friends-of-friends, and fueled by wine, we all had a great time. The band played on, eventually adding singers and an acoustic guitar, while we mixed, mingled and laughed. I hope that the hotel guests enjoyed it as much as we did!

Group shot of the artists and musicians at ArtNight. Photo by Maria Moreno.

Photo by Maria Moreno.

My paintings: (top left) Sonando en Flamboyan Puertorriqueno, (bottom left) Sueno, (top right) Portrait of Frida Kahlo (bottom right) Flamenco. Photo by Maria Moreno.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Community Arts and Cultural Equity in Queens

Group shot at QCA after Cultural Equity discussion.

Being an artist and a resident of Queens, NY for the last eight years or so, I was lucky to come across the Queens Council on the Arts. A few years back, they moved their headquarters to a nice bright space in Astoria. QCA offers lots of great things for artists and arts professionals; such as grant-writing workshops, art labs and other resources and events (I've attended a few of them, like grant-writing and fiscal sponsorship workshops). Recently I received an invitation to attend a panel discussion posing the question, “How Can We Change the Future of Arts and Communities Through Cultural Equity?” This seemed like it would be right up my alley, so I registered for the event on Tuesday, September 29^th.

The panel was lead by Janice Bond, Cultural Curator and Arts Advocate in Chicago and Jason Tseng, Community Specialist for Fractured Atlas in NYC. I was impressed with how they dove straight in to some hard-to-discuss topics like white privilege, colonial mindsets and language equality – and I thought they did a great job of unpacking it all along with the audience (many of whom participated in the “fish bowl” inclusive discussion). After identifying some of these complicated systems and hurdles that people (in this case, artists) come up against, the room seemed really ripe for more. We wanted to dig deeper and some people were piping up to ask for specific solutions, but our two hours were almost up. So the moderator, Zahida Pirani jumped in and posed an important proposition. She said that she has been thinking about forming an artist leadership network specifically for Queens; and she asked if anyone in the room would be interested in joining the steering committee. I raised my hand, along with a handful of other people in the room and she quickly jotted down our names.

In the end, I don't think it would have even been possible to answer such a big question in one sitting (“How Can We Change the Future of Arts and Communities Through Cultural Equity?"). But I do think that we came away with something huge; a step towards building a network and towards developing more culturally equitable opportunities for artists in Queens and beyond. Since the discussion, a group of us have been communicating and will soon be having or first Queens Artist Steering Committee meeting. I am looking forward to it!

Monday, October 5, 2015

Puerto Ricans, Now En Vogue, in NYC

Brooklyn Museum member's opening reception for

Impressionism and the Caribbean: Francisco Oller and His Transatlantic World .

Well apparently it's National Hispanic Heritage Month and while I’ve never paid if much mind before, I have recently been more aware of “Hispanic” goings-on around town, especially in the art world. I just Googled it and found that the month runs from September 15^th to October 15^th, which is kind of weird and interesting – overlapping between two different months and in fact two different seasons, summer and fall. The "month" is composed of multiple elements, much like one might say Hispanics are? I don’t think the reasoning was that poetic. I read online that the dates were stretched in order to include Columbus Day (as he “discovered” many of the Latin American countries [pause here for a look of stunned disbelief]). By the way, I am not a fan of the term Hispanic - but I will save that for a different blog post. For now, I would like to report on a few events that I’ve recently found out about and/or attended and around town, as they relate to this Travesia Artistica blog in general, and to Puerto Rican art and culture specifically.

Firstly, there is the tri-pronged exhibit, ¡Presente! The Young Lords in New York located at El Museo Del Barrio, the Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Loisaida Center. The exhibits have been running since the summer, but this month, I've noticed a few other institutions linking in on the Young Lords theme. Specifically, the Shomberg Center for Research in Black Culture with a panel discussion event entitled, Conversations in Black Freedom Studies - The Young Lords Party, Part 1, which took place on October 1st (part 2 to be scheduled for 2016), and the Queens Museum hosting an "offsite" event (actually at El Museo, not QMA) called Puerto Ricans in New York and the Young Lords in El Barrio on October 10th. Besides those, I came across information for a food festival called, Puerto Rico Meets NYC (September 30th to October 4th) featuring a multitude of top chefs at tasting events culminating in a Lechon Asado Block Party (yes, an old fashioned pig roast!).

Another major event that kicked off this month is the retrospective exhibition of Puerto Rican master artist Francisco Oller at the Brooklyn Museum, entitled, Impressionism and the Caribbean: Francisco Oller and His Transatlantic World (running from October 2nd, 2015 through January 3rd, 2016). Being a museum member, I was thrilled to receive an invitation to the members-only advance preview and reception for the exhibit, which I attended on October 1st. Ann Pasternak (the museum's recently appointed director) gave a welcoming speech before introducing a lovely Latin Jazz band and inviting members to partake in the open bar which included Puerto Rican rum drinks - and there were even plantain chips to snack on, not to mention gorgeous table arrangements made of tropical plants reminiscent of the island (a nice touch!). The Oller exhibit is extensive, 85 works - Oller's, as well as some of his contemporaries and predecessors. Even though the exhibit rightfully points out how Oller was influenced by his time and study in Europe, I thought they also did a great job at illuminating the fact that his Puerto Rican/Caribbean influence was maintained throughout his career and how it shows through his aesthetic, for example, in Still Life with Coconuts (circa 1893). Moreover, Oller's works featuring people - from portraits to scenes - give a sense of the complicated spectrum of race and class in Puerto Rican culture; for example in his well-known work; Maestro Cordero's School (circa 1890). Another iconic piece featured in the exhibit is The Wake (circa 1893), which is actually a reproduction (that seemed to be a big disappointment for some visitors). But even though the museum was unable to obtain the original for whatever reasons, I think that they would have been remiss had they not offered some reference to this important work.

I'm not sure if all of the aforementioned events were specifically programmed to revolve around Hispanic Heritage Month or not. But in addition to the Puerto Rican/Nuyorican-centric institutions like El Museo and Loisaida Inc., it's wonderful to see Puerto Rican culture - from fine art, to culinary to political and historical influences - brought to light at a wide array of venues across NYC. In any case, I hope to see this appreciation continue well beyond National Hispanic Heritage Month.

To see more photos of the Francisco Oller exhibit and lots of other arts and cultural events check out my Instagram: @whippedhoney.