In an architecture-related exhibition it is not so common to find garments or accessories. But "Aquí vive gente: Museum of History and Community of Puerta de Tierra" (MHC PDT), an event hosted at Storefront for Art and Architecture's gallery space (97 Kenmare Street, New York, until 7th September 2019) is not just an exhibition about architecture.
The event focuses indeed on public spaces and on its inhabitants and it is a celebration of the neighborhood of Puerta de Tierra in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Here murals with the refrain "Aquí vive gente" (people live here) remind passersby of the local community's self-determination to look over the future development of its neighborhood.
The temporary museum at Storefront for Art and Architecture is the physical embodiment of an idea that was in the minds and in the living rooms of community members and the result of years of work by Brigada Puerta de Tierra (BPDT), a multigenerational group of artists and activists.
The group was founded in 2015 when a few residents of Puerta de Tierra and Viejo San Juan joined in protest against the controversial Paseo Puerta de Tierra project for the lack of citizen inclusion and involvement in the design and planning process and for the environmental and cultural damages caused on the north coast of San Juan.
The group grew also thanks to help from local children and young people from the neighborhood that started creating murals and engaging in other activities in response to the Paseo Puerta de Tierra project.
Their focus became reactivating abandoned areas and preserving the neighborhood's rich and complex histories and living culture under the slogan "aquí vive gente" and using art and storytelling as their main tools to educate people.
Members of the group have cleaned, maintained, and transformed abandoned sites in Puerta de Tierra through creative initiatives such as mural-making, gardening, and other outdoor programs that bring neighbors together.
Storefront offered the group a space where their narratives are told to local visitors and tourists: stories from the neighbourhood are narrated in the gallery via photographs of collective events such as the feast of the Holy Cross, videos, informative panels, but also personal objects that represent people and identities.
A pair of stilettos next to a photograph of Lisa M remind for example visitors that she is the first female rap artist to debut in Latin America, but there's more to discover behind a straw hat, hinting at the late salsa music pioneer Joe Quijano, band leader of Conjunto Cachana, raised in Puerta de Tierra, or a basket ball, symbol of Puerto Rican basketball legend Jenaro "Tuto" Marchand, who passed away in 2017, and who came from the neighborhood of Puerta de Tierra, serving as an inspiration to the community and to its emerging athletes.
Among the future of the Brigada Puerta de Tierra there's the renovation of Edificio Infanzón, a historic building in Puerta de Tierra that has been abandoned for decades that people hope to turn into a permanent museum where they can preserve the history of locals and inspire further generations of artists, athletes, and musicians from the neighborhood through creative programs.
In the meantime, the closing of the exhibition at Storefront will be marked by a day-long program of events entitled "Todos juntos "(Everyone Together) that comprises, among the other activities, an exhibition tour by Margarita Ramos, a member of Brigada Puerta de Tierra and the artist of the mobile murals on the walls of the gallery space, and a basketball game between a team of young players from Puerta de Tierra, San Juan, and a local team from the Lower East Side.
And if you're looking for a unique design piece inspired by the exhibition that you can purchase from the gallery or online (contacting [email protected]), check out the model-scale ceramic houses of the "Extensión familiar" (Family Extension) series by Javier Bosques.
Created from memory and made in collaboration with the artist's mother Elba Meléndez, the houses are a homage to single-family housing, a common sight in the Puerto Rican landscape. These unfinished constructions with cinder blocks stacked over the roof signalling aspirations to expand and grow are usually build little by little, and their construction process often ends up being very slow for lack of funds.
The houses are conceived as social symbols, posing visitors to "Aquí vive gente" questions about the gentrification of neighborhoods, identity, history and culture and the power of the collective spirit. Talking about the power of the collective, you can support BPDT further by signing the petition for the Museum of History and Community of Puerta de Tierra here.
Image credits for this post
1 -10. Aquí vive gente: Museum of History and Community of Puerta de Tierra by Brigada Puerta de Tierra. Storefront for Art and Architecture, 2019. Photographs by David "Dee" Delgado.
11 - 14. Extensión familiar (Family Extension) series by Javier Bosques and Elba Meléndez. Courtesy of the artists.
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