I was one of the first artists selected for the inaugural residency at Hapeville Main Street, and for two months I turned my studio space into a Dominican living room — homey, fun, and full of music.
During the residency, I painted new pieces, did live painting sessions, and hosted events like Café and Cultura, where people could sip Dominican coffee while we chatted and created together. I even had a dominoes table set up in the space — if you wanted to battle, I was ready.
I actually built that dominoes table myself, adding in details from across the whole island of Ayiti/Quisqueya — mangoes, cashew fruit, the Cigua Palmera (the Dominican national bird), and the Kanson Wouj (the national bird of Haiti).
One of my favorite pieces from the residency was Lechon Joyero, a Diablo Cojuelo mask sculpture from Santiago, Dominican Republic. I have a real fear of masks — masklophobia — that goes all the way back to childhood, from my mother dressing up as a Bonao macarao (they look like demons) to my brothers scaring me with masks at Coney Island. So I chose to make the least scary version I could find, from Santiago. The Diablo Cojuelo itself comes from a fusion of Spanish, African, and Taíno influences from colonial times — originally a tool indigenous people used to satirize their colonizers, and a symbol of rebellion and resistance that's carried through ever since.
This was my first residency, and it gave me the freedom to create, talk to so many people about my culture, and find inspiration for what came next — Ayiti-Quisqueya: Nexus of the Taíno, which opened just weeks after the residency ended.
Thank you to the City of Hapeville for having me!