BIO

Sofía Shaula Reeser-del Rio (b. 1989) is a Puerto Rican curator, scholar, multidisciplinary artist, and educator based between Puerto Rico, Madrid, and NYC. She focuses on uncovering untold histories and promoting narratives often overlooked in mainstream discourse. Her work investigates the intersections of art and science, civic culture, and the role of urban planning and architecture in building sustainable communities and communal environments.

Sofía has organized, consulted on, and produced major exhibitions centered on Latinx, Latin American, and Caribbean artists, with a particular focus on LGBTQ and self-identified female creatives from Puerto Rico. Her curatorial projects underscore these communities’ cultural and civic contributions while addressing themes such as memory, ecology, sustainability, and alternative models of economic and social production.

At El Museo del Barrio in New York (2012–2017), she played a pivotal role in supporting the organization and execution of over thirty exhibitions and numerous public programs, artists’ projects, site-specific installations, and off-site special projects. Some notable ones include NKAME: A Retrospective of Cuban Printmaker Belkis Ayón (2017), Antonio Lopez: Future Funk Fashion (2016), Illusive Eye (2016), Marisol (2015), Pa'Lante: Young Lords in New York (2015), PLAYING WITH FIRE: Political Interventions, Dissident Acts, and Mischievous Actions (2014), Museum Starter Kit: Open with Care (2013), La Bienal (2013), Caribbean Crossroads of the World (2012). As well as with innovative programs such as Artists in Residency, Lucky Sevens Art Salon, and Portfolio Reviews that reimagined contemporary artists’ roles and their relationships with the Museum.

Sofía holds an MFA from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, and a BFA from Pratt Institute. She also studied at the University of Puerto Rico, where courses with leading visual artists, educators, and academics helped shape her practice. An active member of Mujeres de Islas, Inc. since 2010—a community-based NGO in Culebra, PR—she has been a certified Ashtanga Yoga, postnatal doula, and certified yoga instructor (among other certifications) since 2005.

Currently, as Curator and Associate Director of Programs at The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center in NYC, Sofía leads innovative digital storytelling and archival research initiatives. As Co-Curator of Historias and Project Lead of Nueva York Chronicles—in collaboration with Libertad O. Guerra—she is redefining how Latinx narratives are gathered, archived, and shared through interactive, multimedia platforms. Grounded in ecological working models and community wellness initiatives, her holistic approach has been recognized through various awards, fellowships, and residencies, affirming her commitment to advancing knowledge justice and reimagining public narratives.

STATEMENT

My practice is guided by the questions: Who is telling our stories? Why are our stories being told? Where are our stories being told? How do we remember when tangible markers of memory are lost or inaccessible? These inquiries frame my work as an exercise in illuminating untold histories, re-centering narratives often excluded from dominant cultural frameworks, and exploring the fragility and resilience of memory across time and space.

My artistic and curatorial practices are deeply intertwined, both guided by a transdisciplinary approach that explores issues of gender, sustainability, and race. Through collaboration and research, I aim to bring visibility to what has been overlooked or marginalized—focusing on self-care as a form of #HealingRevolution, the stories and experiences of migration and exile, and alternative economic and socio-political modes of production. These efforts generate programs that amplify the diverse communities and voices of the Caribbean, Latin America, and their diasporas, while fostering connections between artistic and academic communities.

My artistic work focuses on the body's relationships with three fundamental axes: memory, rituals, and architecture. It is an empirical work (based on the senses, observation, and experimentation) and poetic (approaching experience and knowledge from the intuitive, subconscious, and imaginary) as pauses allow us to observe the interactions (conscious and unconscious) more closely.

As a curator and arts producer, I provide and find platforms to heighten artists' diverse voices, social/cultural realities, and communities. In my role as curator, I take an active role in ensuring that what is programmed and selected invites new ways of thinking about ourselves, our communities, and the world, pushing boundaries, trying new technologies, and creating memorable experiences that generate meaningful dialogues. My goal is to weave the gap between art and the public responding to the ever-changing ecosystems each inhabits.