Pan-African Cultural Exchange (PACE) Puerto Rico-U.S. Mainland Exchange
Our PACE Puerto Rico-U.S. Mainland exchange will allow Afro-descendant American teaching artists to travel to Puerto Rico, in order to teach, work, and collaborate with Afro-Boricua (ethnic Puerto Ricans who are predominantly or partially Afro-descendant) artists. All participants will be utilizing the Afrocentric Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) framework and their respective art mediums.
This inaugural exchange is scheduled to last for a total of eight days, in February 2022 (exact dates TBD). Although visiting teaching artists will be based in San Juan, several of the exchange activities will be held in the Loíza community. Primary exchange activities include workshops, community outreach events, experimental art collaborations, site-seeing, and cultural excursions.
Applications for the PACE Puerto Rico-U.S. Mainland exchange will open in November 2021. Prior to departure, Afro-descendant American teaching artists/arts educators MUST be trained in the Afrocentric Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) framework and facilitate at least ONE workshop with Black Teaching Artist Lab.
About Puerto Rico
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic.
Geographic coordinates: 18°15'N, 66°30'W
Region: North America
Subregion: Caribbean
Map References: Central America and the Caribbean
Total Area: 9,104 sq km (3,508 sq mi)
Languages: Spanish and English
Population: 3,189,068 (July 2020 est.)
How it Works
Afro-descendant American teaching artists/arts educators who are interested participating in the Puerto Rico-U.S. Mainland exchange MUST be trained in the Afrocentric Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) framework and facilitate a medium-specific workshop for local artists and community members in Puerto Rico.
All Afro-descendant American participants must:
Be over the age of 21
Be a part of the African Diaspora [Afro-latino(x), Afro-Caribbean, African American, Afro-Indigenous]
Complete Afrocentric SEL training, PRIOR to departure for Puerto Rico
Facilitate at lease ONE workshop with Black Teaching Artist Lab, PRIOR to departure for Puerto Rico
Develop a medium-specific workshop for artists and community members in Puerto Rico, PRIOR to departure for Puerto Rico
What to Expect While in Puerto Rico
Community Outreach
While in Puerto Rico, Afro-descendant American artists will work alongside Afro-Boricua artists and local organizations, in order to facilitate medium-specific Afrocentric SEL workshops and support local movements for social justice. Through this process, BTAL hopes to build a stronger alliance with our Afro-Boricua brothers and sisters.
Workshops
Afro-descendant American teaching artists will have the chance to work with alongside Afro-Boricua artists, who are interested in using the Afrocentric SEL framework in their art practices. Together, they will create an experimental art collaboration, which explores the similarities and differences between their respective Pan-African cultures.
Cultural Excursions
Afro-descendant American teaching artists will partake in a guided excursion to the lush El Yunque National Forest—the only tropical forest in the U.S. National Forest Service; stroll the historic streets of Old San Juan; and tour the studio of Samuel Lind, an artist whose multifaceted works are inspired by Afro-Caribbean beliefs, syncretism, and the natural beauty of his hometown of Loíza.
What Teaching Artists Will Gain
Connection
Globally, there is a lack of understanding and persistence of negative racial stereotypes regarding Pan-African cultures, namely those which exist outside of continental Africa. These cultures include Afro-descendant American and Afro-Boricua populations, who share a lack of intercultural understanding amongst themselves. With this exchange, BTAL hopes that Afro-descendant American and Afro-Boricua teaching artists will uncover the universal truths and connections they share as people of the Diaspora.
Exploration
Travel has unlimited potential to foster not only intercultural understanding, but also a deeper understanding of oneself. By exploring the rich and multifaceted history and culture of Puerto Rico and its people, our Afro-descendant American teaching artists may gain a greater perspective and deeper understanding of themselves, as well as their place in the world.
Community
As both racial and cultural minorities in the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico, Afro-descendant American and Afro-Boricua individuals represent some of the most commonly marginalized groups in the Western Hemisphere. Through this exchange, Afro-descendant American and Afro-Boricua artists will find and build a community amongst like-minded, Diasporic peers.
Partners and Collaborators
The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce (NPRCC) is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization created to support the development of entrepreneurship, innovation, and business expansion throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland by providing a comprehensive resource for incubating business ideas, leveraging new markets, taking advantage of new opportunities, and advocating for policies that help our communities grow. Black Teaching Artist Lab and NPRCC will work together to develop activities and programs that improve the Puerto Rican Afro-Boricua art environment and lead to greater unification of the Puerto Rican community.
El Ancon de Loíza
El Ancon de Loíza is a nonprofit community-based organization that works to preserve the historic space where the old Ancon de Loíza—a barge that transported people and cars from Loíza and the entire eastern area to San Juan—used to cross, for the enjoyment of all Puerto Ricans and their visitors. Through culture, micro-enterprise ventures, and the community’s relationship to water, El Ancon de Loíza works for the development and sustainability of Loíza. In addition to the NPRCC, Black Teaching Artist Lab hopes to partner with El Ancon de Loíza to support community development initiatives in Loíza.