Leila Mattina Gregory is a Puerto Rican artist/farmer based in Aibonito, Puerto Rico. She is co-founder of Trama Antillana, a farm space focused primarily on producing and processing natural dyes and fibers. Trama is a place for research and development of different practices to grow or source natural raw materials for arts and culture. It also provides a space for continued education and access to a variety of raw materials for the community.
Natalia Viera Salgado is a Puerto Rican curator and curatorial consultant based in New York City. She is also the founder of :Pública Espacio Cultural, an independent art space in Alto del Cabro, Santurce Puerto Rico. Her art historical research focuses on contemporary art in relation to decolonial practices, architecture, social and environmental justice, and new media with a keen interest in hybrid and interdisciplinary projects. She has worked at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, El Museo de Barrio, Art in General, Socrates Sculpture Park, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, and Americas Society. Viera holds a MA in Curatorial Practice from the School of Visual Arts and is currently the Associate Curator at the National Academy of Design and curatorial Resident at the Abrons Arts Center.
Artists Alliance Inc. is dedicated to launching, strengthening, and advancing the vision of emerging and underrepresented artists and curators through fully-funded residencies, paid exhibition opportunities, and commissioned projects.
Rooted in the Lower East Side (a long-standing epicenter of creative experimentation and cultural diversity) and in NYC at-large, AAI cultivates art practices that challenge the way we experience ourselves, our communities, and our world. Through three initiatives—Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space, LES Studio Program, Public Works— AAI aims to widen the audience for contemporary art and encourage public dialogue using art as a catalyst.
Pública Espacio Cultural is a cultural space founded in November 2018 by cultural producer Naíma Rodrígez and independent curator Natalia Viera Salgado. The space is located in the community of Alto del Cabro, one of the most important historic neighborhoods of Santurce, Puerto Rico. One of the major problems on the island currently is the lack of funding and spaces dedicated to serve the community in the cultural and arts sector. In November 2018, Pública: opened up its doors to become a platform for local artists and international artists as a way to strengthen the relationship between Puerto Rico and an international audience.
La Residencia is a collaborative residency partnership between Abrons Arts Center (New York, NY) and Pública (San Juan, PR) and made possible with funds provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
