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A close up photo of artist Leenda Bonilla in front of elephant leaves. She faces away from the camera with a neutral expression.

Leenda Bonilla

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I create visual narratives of my experiences as "Neo-Puerto Rican" to reflect the global local diaspora in New York City. I use traditional methods and materials such as photography, found objects, graphic design, assemblage, ceramic, performance and in subsequently, I repurpose/transform/translate into each oeuvre or interactive installation to ultimately produce a complex and layered patterns that expresses the story of the of culture, fashion, politics, feminism, and urbanism which references to my bicultural life between la isla and the mainland.

Leenda Bonilla is an interdisciplinary artist, art + culture producer, and a specialist in civic engagement with art-making practices. Her practice is influenced by her urban/suburban/island background (born in NYC, raised in The Bronx and Puerto Rico). Bonilla’s work has shown at Art in Odd Places, (NYC), AS220 (RI), The Bronx Museum of the Arts, New York Botanical Garden, Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture (Bx,NY), El Taller Boricua (NYC), MOLAA (LA), among others. Leenda holds a Master from the Pratt Institute in Arts/Cultural Management and a BA from Manhattan College, Political Science/International Studies and is a fellow of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) Leadership Institute & Arts Advocacy Program. Her creative career traversed from magazine publishing, to non-profit art/cultural management, and currently in the public sector working on community development focused on rebuilding civic engagement via the arts. She has developed programs from extensive field experience to forge creative and civically engaged collaborative art/cultural projects that implement and support community activism of the social issues affecting New York City neighborhoods. She serves as a board member on The Bronx Council on the Arts; Community Advisory Committee member for El Museo del Barrio, and formerly at The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Laundromat Project, board member at LP 21, En Foco, Inc among others. She is focused on reconstructing contemporary narratives of her Puerto Rican heritage. Her art practice is integral to how she engages el mundo.

Featured Artwork

The black and white image is split down the middle to represent the two sides of the artist. One side represents the American side of her, wearing common work clothes. She stands in front of an American flag and the city. On the right, she is wearing a looser, more patterned dress. She stands in front of the Puerto Rican flag and the island landscape.
Leenda Bonilla, MainLand_Mix, 2014, archival ink on canvas, 40 x 30. Image is courtesy of the artist.