The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College has announced the selected photographers for the first edition of “On Both Sides of the Lens: Documenting the Puerto Rican Diaspora.” Their works are included and featured in a photobook available for purchase in CENTRO’s La Bodega for $15, and a digital exhibition. This project is part of CENTRO’s Diasporic Art in Motion (DAM), a digital archive and community mapping project that seeks to document the impact of migration on Puerto Rican visual culture and community-building through in-depth profiles of contemporary diasporic Puerto Rican visual artists.
Inspired by the legacy of Frank Espada, Hiram Maristany, Sophie Rivera, Charles Biasiny-Rivera, Roger Cabán, Felipe Dante, and many more, CENTRO’s open call had the goal of having a visual record that communicated the last five years of the Puerto Rican diasporic experience. The call had a total of 93 submissions, representing 20 states and 3 countries. While the original goal was to select 10 artists, the volume and quality of the submissions pushed CENTRO to expand the selections with an additional 23 finalists and honorable mentions whose work will also be included in all presentations.
“With this publication, we not only celebrate the work of the 33 awarded photographers, but also a long tradition, widely documented in our archives, in which our photographers have turned their gaze toward their communities. This documentary and artistic work reflects who we are and how we see ourselves from within,” said Ángel Antonio Ruiz-Laboy, CENTRO’s Associate Director of Arts & Culture. “It captures our everyday life in all its nuances and celebrates us by celebrating our culture and how it integrates into American culture. This first instance of the project, which we hope to repeat regularly, documents the past five years of the Puerto Rican diaspora.”
You can access the digital exhibition on CENTRO’s website here.
Below are the selected finalists:
- Argenis Apolinario, New York, NY
- Vania J. Arroyo, Boston, MA
- Wanda Benvenutti, Brooklyn, NY
- Mario Rubén Carrión, Brooklyn, NY
- Gabriel Gonzalez, Cleveland, OH
- Ariella Imena, New York, NY
- Abigail Montes, Bronx, NY
- Ruben Natal-San Miguel, New York, NY
- Farrique Pesquera, Puerto Rico
- Rhynna M. Santos, Bronx, NY
Below are the selected artists for honorable mentions:
- José Alvarado Jr., Queens, NY
- Leenda Bonilla, Bronx, NY
- Elias Carmona, Chicago, IL
- Joanna Diaz, Whittier, CA
- Claudia Isabel Diaz, Brooklyn, NY
- Joseph Kattou, Hauppauge, NY
- Christopher López, Hoboken, NJ
- Samuel Malave Jr., Astoria, NY
- Andina Marie Osorio, Hamden, CT
- Lisette Otero-Lewis, Palm Coast, FL
- Ana Paula Teixeira Torres, Puerto Rico
- Kevin Quiles Bonilla, New York, NY
- Amanda Raquel Dorval, Ossining, NY
- Shannel Resto, Decatur, GA
- Izael Rivera Flores, Brooklyn, NY
- Herminio Rodriguez, Chicago, IL
- Vanessa Rodriguez, Oakland, CA
- Roger Santos, Brooklyn, NY
- Asia Shkreli Phitts Pesante, Hopewell Junction, NY
- Daniela Spector, Queens, NY
- Sol Valerio, Philadelphia, PA
- Rodney Vargas, Fair Lawn, NJ
- Chris Vega, Pittsburgh, PA
Featured Artwork: Vania J. Arroyo. Haciendo pelo en la cocina, 2023. Image courtesy of the artist.