This phase of the Extension or Communication project will further highlight emancipatory projects that have emerged in Puerto Rico and Philadelphia in the aftermath of hurricane Maria.

As the crisis lurches forward into its fifth month, some citizen brigades have congealed into civic groups looking past the immediate relief efforts; some are beginning to create joint strategies for the long-term transformation of vital sectors of Puerto Rican society. Among these groups, those concerned with food sovereignty have been most articulate in their polemics about the need for a radical transformation in the Puerto Rican community, advocating a critical intersection of literacy, technology, and civics as necessary to the viability and long-term sustainability of any political project.

Today, these groups have a more significant political resonance in that they echo similar needs and desires in the US. As imperial power becomes more concentrated in the era of Trump, Puerto Rico has become the crystallized symbol of a debased citizenry. During a recent visit to the island, Ricky Yanas, Grimaldi Baez, and Sheldon Abba collected images, texts, and interviews looking for critical contexts and generative possibilities in the wake of the storm.

From April 7th to May 5th, Yanas, Baez, and Abba will treat the Taller’s gallery as an active studio/lab, parsing and organizing the selections from the institution’s archives, working with the Youth Artist Program, and hosting discussions and workshops around the question of exchange with Puerto Rico. What can we give? What do we need? This open form will yield not only artworks, but strategies for collaboration. Working with contributors including community organizers Charíto Morales and Tania-María Ríos, and Poet Laureate Raquel Salas Rivera, the core group will offer a series of presentations highlighting pertinent ideas, necessary resources, and next steps (dates to follow). This exhibition continues and builds on their work from Extension or Communication’s first iteration at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia which ran from January 11 to February 17, 2018.

Ricky Yanas is a Texas-born artist, curator, and educator based in Philadelphia, PA. He received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011. In his work, he utilizes photography, painting, sculpture, and installation to highlight and link activist traditions and struggles by weaving a multitude of aesthetic, philosophical, and political histories. In 2016, he founded Ulises books with Nerissa Cooney, Lauren Downing, Joel Evey, Kayla Romberger and Gee Wesley.                                

Tania-María Ríos Marrero is a community organizer for a North Philadelphia public library, interested in the complex issues associated with access, information and creation. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she embraces Latinx communities of the diaspora and of her ancestral home Puerto Rico.

Charíto Morales is a registered nurse and social justice activist based in Philadelphia. Her work focuses on advocating for the victims of Philadelphia’s opioid crisis and the displaced families of Puerto Rico. She is a descendant of the Taino chieftain Cacique Mabodamaca. She is a warrior and surfer leading numerous groups including the Pirates Surf Club and Hurracain Real Life Guajataca Downhill PR.

Raquel Salas Rivera is the 2018-19 Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. They are the author of Caneca de anhelos turbios (Editora Educación Emergente), oropel/tinsel (Lark Books), and tierra intermitente (Ediciones Alayubia). Their book lo terciario/the tertiary is forthcoming in 2018 from Timeless, Infinite Light. Currently, they are Co-Editor of The Wanderer, and Co-Editor of Puerto Rico en mi corazón, a collection of bilingual broadsides of contemporary Puerto Rican poets.