Pregones/PRTT and :Pública Espacio Announce Relief Microgrants for Artists in Puerto Rico — Benefit Performances in NYC: OCT 6 & 7 at 8pm and OCT 29 at 3pm*
New York – October 12, 2022 – Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York and :Pública Espacio in Puerto Rico announce partnership to reactivate peer-to-peer Relief Microgrants for Artists in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona and the persistent challenges that have followed.
Three performances of Pregones/PRTT’s original musical play Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat —live at Miriam Colón’s Puerto Rican Traveling Theater on 304 West 47th Street through October 23— kick off the direct assistance effort with 100% of ticket sales and add-on donations going out as no-strings $500 microgrants to artists on the island. The next benefit performance is on Saturday, October 29, at 3pm.
“We are reigniting humanitarian aid in recognition of dramatic reduction in the kind and number of paid performances, exhibitions, workshops, classes, and other revenue-generating activities on which artists depend for a living,” says Rosalba Rolón, Pregones/PRTT’s Artistic Director. “We are responding to a need voiced by artists and cultural workers across all disciplines and throughout the island.”
“Our mission is to support Puerto Rico’s artists and culture makers, especially those who face structural barriers when realizing their projects and bringing them to a general audience. After the passage of Hurricane Fiona, many artists have lost jobs and revenues due to loss of equipment, interruption of basic services, and postponement or cancellation of public events,” says Naíma Rodríguez, Founding Producer of :Pública Espacio, a nonprofit cultural space that champions collaboration, solidarity, and community. “These micro-grants will serve to alleviate some of the damage that artists are experiencing right now on the island.”
Since 2017, Puerto Rico has experienced disruptive climatic and environmental crises, accelerated erosion of core infrastructure, and economic hardship. At every turn, artists have been on the forefront of mutual aid and collective mobilization for social change. Hundreds of deserving artists on the island previously received emergency assistance through the collaborative micro-grants model launched by Pregones/PRTT after Hurricane María and sustained through the Earthquake Swarm of 2020.
An online portal welcoming donations of all sizes is now open at https://pregonesprtt.org/donate/. As in prior iterations, this peer-to-peer opportunity does not require an application. The relief fundraiser team is comprised of fellow artists, knowing advisors, and trusted on-the-ground collaborators who will deliver cash grants of $500 to artists, and give them complete freedom to choose how to use the funds. Advisors and partners in this new round of direct emergency assistance also include: Consejo Artístico de Puerto Rico, Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades, La Escena Y, and Vueltabajo Teatro.
“Weeks after Fiona’s impact, many communities in Puerto Rico continue to experience enormous difficulties, including the cultural and artistic sector. Aware as we are of this reality, we applaud this initiative of valuable collaborators led by :Pública Espacio and Pregones/PRTT. In our more than four decades of service, FPH has maintained its focus on supporting cultural organizations with a humanistic mission that promote appreciation of our arts. It is from that experience, and as part of FPH’s larger response to the current emergency, that we stand in solidarity with this effort to bring quick and agile financial assistance to our artists when they most need it,” says Sonya Canetti Mirabal, Executive Director of Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades.
For more information and to arrange a contribution, please email Arnaldo J. López, Pregones/PRTT’s Managing Director <ajlopez at pregones dot org> or call 718-585-1202.
*UPDATED on 10.13.22