Indigenous Roots of the Caribbean – Art Exhibit and Reception

In celebration of Puerto Rican and Indigenous Heritage Month, the PCCC Broadway Gallery is exhibiting Indigenous Roots of the Caribbean through January 15, 2025.

A reception will be held on Thursday, December 12^th, from 4:30 – 7:00 p.m. Bomba artists—Christopher Rodriguez, Clara Diaz, and Julio Evans—will perform in the gallery from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m.

Originating from across the United States and its territory, Puerto Rico, the presenting artists are the following: Priscilla Bell Lamberty, Philadelphia; Michael Casiano, Brooklyn, NY; Maria ‘Meri’ Ramos, the Bronx, NY; Virginia Robles-Villalba, New York, NY; Franchesca Rivera-Ortiz, Detroit, MI; Ramona Terrero, Yonkers, NY; Sue Hilt, Florida; Daniel Silva Pagan, Puerto Rico; Nathan ‘R.E.A.L.M.’ Bunce, New York, NY; Jose Luis Rodriguez, the Bronx, NY; and Inti Rodriguez, Paterson, NJ.

Each of the artists reflect on their cultural traditions, mythologies, and their own experiences to produce art that both preserves the indigenous crafts of storytelling and visual art and remasters them to relate to modern viewers. According to Jaimi Rodriguez, coordinator for the artists and PCCC security staff member, the Indigenous Roots of the Caribbean exhibition is about understanding the Taino people’s true history, promoting their culture, and accepting the diversity within the community, as well as recognizing the ancestral indigenous values and continuity of their shared heritage.

The gallery is located at Broadway and Memorial Drive in Paterson, NJ. For more information or to request parking in the PCCC visitor’s lot, write to [email protected] or call 973-684-6507.The PCCC Broadway Gallery is wheelchair accessible; large print materials and FM assistive listening devices available on request. This exhibit is funded, in part, by Passaic County Community College and a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Broadway Gallery is open Monday – Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.