José Ortiz-Pagán
Former Community Liaison
José Ortiz-Pagán served the L~W initiative from May 2019 to March 2021; connecting the Lead Artists and the AWE centers to artists and community groups to enrich, articulate, and explore the project's many artistic, cultural, and ecological facets. He is a visual artist and cultural organizer working on community-based art projects concerned with how art projects can include people on a local level, how to negotiate a diverse notion of cultural expression, and how to create safe places for people to develop their evolving traditional practices.
While working with the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, Ortiz-Pagán developed the annual Día de los Muertos celebration in collaboration with the Calaca Flaca Committee that took place in various locations in Southwest Philadelphia; as well as Bring Your Own Project (BYOP), a multi-part "place-keeping" project grounded in two extensive residency partnerships with W.O.A.R. (Women Organized Against Rape), and VietLEAD, a neighborhood program that supports Vietnamese communities.
As a printmaker, Ortiz-Pagán addresses how postindustrial and post-colonial communities, the use of time, economies, and spiritual practices as a cultural gateway to develop community strength and self-agency. He has received awards and developed projects with Second State Press, Taller Puertorriqueño, Chemical Heritage Museum and the Art Anthropology Museum at the University of Puerto Rico. His work has been featured in exhibitions including the 2015 Trienal Poligráfica in San Juan PR, the international printmaking biennial in Taiwan ROC, and the publication New American Paintings.
@joseortizpagan
