For her residency, Natalia Viera will work with materials from the 1970s-1980s in the archives of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, focusing on Puerto Rican culture and heritage. The Center, located in upper Manhattan is a research institute dedicated to the study and interpretation of the Puerto Rican experience in the United States, producing and disseminating relevant interdisciplinary research.
Viera is an independent curator based in New York. She received her MA in Curatorial Studies from the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in spring 2018. She currently works as the art program and research assistant at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College, New York. Viera is also currently the curatorial and publications fellow at the Socrates Sculpture Park for Virginia Overton’s exhibition Built. She has worked in various cultural institutions from the private, nonprofit and government sector in New York City, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. Her curatorial practice addresses contemporary social issues focused on Latin American, Caribbean and Hispanic communities. She was the assistant curator for the 4th Poly/Graphic Triennial of Latin America and the Caribbean in Puerto Rico where she worked directly with curators Gerardo Mosquera, co-founder of the Havana Biennial; and Chilean curator, Alexia Tala. Her recent projects included Isla Imaginaria, an exhibition that questioned notions of paradise, landscape and the idea of progress in the island of Puerto Rico. Other projects included leading the workshop Breaking and Unveiling the Immigration Glossary of Severalty with the collective Se Habla Español at the 8th Floor gallery.
Viera’s residency is presented in partnership by EMBAJADA 406, Artists Alliance Inc, and The Clemente