Shey Rí Acu Rivera Ríos
Shey ‘Rí Acu’ Rivera Ríos (they/them/elle) was born and raised in Borikén/Puerto Rico and is rooted in community in Providence, RI, land of the Narragansett and Wampanoag peoples. Rivera is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker who uses storytelling across mediums to create immersive worlds of magic and liberation. They have 15 years of experience in the arts and culture sector, interweaving community development, urban planning, and racial equity. Rivera is Creative Catalyst Director of One Square World, a racial and environmental justice organization that builds liberatory structures alongside communities. Rivera is also founder of Studio Loba, a storytelling lab for art and culture projects that support social change. Past leadership roles include: Director of Inclusive Regional Development at MIT CoLab, Dept of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT. And Artistic/Co-Director of AS220, a renowned arts organization and creative incubator in Providence, RI. Rivera is committed to art as a catalyst for social change and honoring community stories and lived experience as the knowledge that can help us craft more just and sustainable futures. Notable projects include: Lead curator for public art projects El Corazón de Holyoke and Mi Gente Public Art in Providence; transmedia artworks MoralDocs (2020-21) and FANTASY ISLAND (2017-2020), Luna Loba performance series, theatrical productions Antigonx (2022) and Fire Flowers and a Time Machine (2020); and co-curator of PORTALES: Reimagining the Future (2022), an exhibition of the role of artists supporting communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and the movement against racial injustice.
Abre Caminos
Organized with various community partners and culture bearers, Shey Rivera Ríos’s “Abre Caminos” is a series of cultural activations that destroy colonial narratives and use community storytelling and collective ritual as modes of commemorating the future. Shey is an interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker who uses storytelling across mediums to create immersive worlds of magic and liberation. Through interactive performances and participatory activities, their interventions in this project will open up portals into often unacknowledged indigenous histories, offering new immersive ways of remembering and reconnecting with the people, places and events that make up these stories, thereby forging new relationships with the past.
Shey’s project will feature two main interventions: Museo de las Ancestras, a live community performance that brings to life various historical and artistic women icons who will grace the former Columbus Square with their presence, and Festival de Futuros Ancestrales, a procession from Mashapaug Pond to the former Columbus Square that will also feature poetry, theater and live art performances.
Programming Details:
Sunday, June 22, 1pm – 3pm, Arte Latino New England, Hope Artiste Village, 1005 Main St, Pawtucket 02860
Museo de las Ancestras (Open Rehearsal)
An open rehearsal of Museo de las Ancestras, a live community performance that will bring to life various historical and artistic women icons who will grace the former Columbus Square with their presence.
Date TBD, FKA Columbus Sq, 24 Reservoir Ave, Providence, RI 02907
Museo de las Ancestras
Living statues of important and celebrated women in history come alive at the former Columbus Square. This community performance invites neighbors and audiences to be immersed in a magical realism intervention upon the former Columbus Square, to recognize the contributions of women across time. It takes place in the Elmwood neighborhood, on the Southside of Providence. Join us for vibrant performances, community gathering, public education, and poetry. This event is a collaboration between Shey Rivera Ríos / Studio Loba, Sussy Santana, and Arte Latino New England, for the Providence Commemoration Lab.
Saturday, August 23, 1pm-4pm, Mashapaug Pond, 375 Adelaide Ave, Providence, RI 02907, and FKA Columbus Square, 24 Reservoir Ave, Providence, RI 02907
Festival de Futuros Ancestrales
This community performance starts with a welcome, blessing, and performance opening at Mashapaug Pond; then, a short procession to former Columbus Square, where there will be 2-3 poetry and live art performances, then a 15 minute short play outdoors at this event; closing community ritual of stories and offerings for commemoration. This is an intergenerational event with culture bearers of various lineages, artists, neighbors, and families. Includes a tabling of activities with PCL Activity Book and food/refreshments.
Sunday, October 12, 1pm – 4pm, FKA Columbus Sq, 24 Reservoir Ave, Providence, RI 02907
Performance Event for Indigenous People’s Day
See the FKA Columbus Square page for more information
