About Us
Finding Inspiration in history, resistance and affirmation.
The Schomburg is a contemporary art space located in the heart of Humboldt Park, in Chicago, in the Puerto Rican diaspora neighborhood. Inspired by the legacy and vision of Afro Puerto Rican historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, The Schomburg prioritizes on the visibility, circulation and production of art from Puerto Rico and its Diaspora, serving as the axis where artists, cultural workers, patrons and the community can self-actualize, reclaim, exchange ideas, and organize around artistic and cultural practices.
As is reimagined through the lens of Schomburg’s bequest, this effort would allow the creation and sustainability of the following:
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A research and incubation hub for Afro-Caribbean and Afro Latinx art production. (serving as a bridge for intercommunal thinking, the reactivation of solidarity efforts and cultural exchange)
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A community building and engagement through a provision that nurtures a network point for artists, collectors, scholars, cultural organizations and community members.
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Art production, serving specialized professional services including: custom art design and fabrication, consultation (appraisal and curatorial).
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An art gallery and exhibition space. (Visibility and representation)
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Art Education through the design of workshops on culturally relevant topics (preservation of the collective memory) and techniques for the advancement of the arts in the Puerto Rican identity.
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The establishment of Art studios and co- creative spaces of Afro Puerto Rican artists living and working in Chicago.
Our Story
For the past twenty years, I have investigated the effect and impact of homesickness through the creation of non-traditional physical spaces, their meaning and the new ways that they can be reinterpreted. As an interdisciplinary artist focusing on performance art, installation and photography these spaces containing displaced (objects, body, and garments) have been used not only to reimagine personal and external narratives but as a process of unfolding the strains of systemic invisibility and exclusion.
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El Schomburg | Contemporary Art Space incorporated in 2023, started as an long overdue proposal to establish a space for the visibilization, production and teaching of art centered in the Puerto Rican experience, cultural affirmation, stories and collective processes of healing. El Schomburg as an innovative creative enterprise has been possible through the support of Chicago Business Development (CBD) initiative led by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.
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