La Protección (Protection), an Artist Residency with Jose Ortiz-Pagan
- Johnny Irizarry and the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies
- Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies (CLALS)
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Artist Residency Grant
José Ortiz-Pagán, a Puerto Rican artist living in Philadelphia, will be in residence in the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies (CLALS) Summer – Fall 2024. Ortiz-Pagán connects with community members in creative experiential processes that celebrate-honor-respond to local culture, challenges, and inspirations, a culturally interlocked artmaking approach where collective engagement has equal value to the artistic resolution. He has worked with diverse communities across Philadelphia and the region as an artist, curator, and collaborator. Through this residency at CLALS, Ortiz-Pagán will work with high-school-aged youth from the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo, and Educación (CCATE), in Norristown, and Taller Puertorriqueno, in Philadelphia, through the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies established summer program (an ongoing collaboration with CCATE). Starting in June 2024, the sessions will include group reading, quiet contemplation, and group discussion in the mornings, followed by printmaking workshops in the afternoons. Participants will design, cut, and print an “amulet” design that encapsulates their unique experiences and elements of what they envision as protection. The artworks will take the form of flags, serving as a vital component of a final art installation to be displayed at the McNeil building atrium on Penn’s campus.
Part of the project also envisions involving students from the (Fall semester, 2024 LALS 4240 – 4010, Social Impact of Latinx nonprofits, an ABCS course taught by Mr. Johnny Irizarry) to aid in developing relationships with one or two local institutions within the Latinx community, such as Taller Puertorriqueno and La Puerta Abierta. The plan includes organizing groups of young people and/or volunteers to collaborate in crafting the installation artwork through a series of guided workshops, art installation training, and gatherings. These sessions aim not only to contribute to the installation of the artwork developed by youth over the summer of 2024 but also to serve as spaces for communal gatherings, creating an exhibition design, final installation, and shared meals. The artist (Jose Ortiz-Pagan) envisions having these gatherings also include short introspection and/or meditation sessions. Students and community youth will guide several of these gatherings as part of the course.