Mahara Martínez
Curator & gallerist
About Biolumina
Rooted in Vieques.
Open to exchange.
Biolumina is an independent artist residency founded and directed by Marco Caridad. It is a program of Fundación Casa Mi Rey, a nonprofit organization in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
Mission
Supporting
practice.
Our mission is to support contemporary research and creation through residencies, curatorial dialogue and public exchanges in relation to Vieques. We offer a context for paying attention, testing methods and giving time to each artist’s questions.
The residency is built from artistic practice and care for relationships. We are interested in connecting experiences from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other contexts, with close attention to the people and places we work with.
Ironwork and vegetation in Vieques · Photograph: Marco Caridad.
Our commitments
Process
Support research and experimentation, making space for what has yet to take shape.
Place
Work with attention to the history, ecology and cultural life of Vieques.
Reciprocity
Build exchanges with artists and local collaborators that recognize the knowledge each brings.
The people
Team &
dialogue.
Team
Marco CaridadFounder & director
Alexander Máximo GonzálezAdministrative & logistical coordination
Linda ReadCommunications & grants
Curatorial dialogue · 2026 cohort
Jessica L. Ambler, Ph.D.
Inaugural cohort selection · 2026
Sarabel Santos Negrón · Dennys Matos · Marco Caridad.
Our collaborators
Our collaborators include Escuela Elemental Manuela Santiago Collazo, Cundeamor, Galería Isabel II, Oro at Playa Negra and Rising Roost. Each space is credited in the activities it hosts.
Independent selection
2027
jury.
This cycle’s jury brings together perspectives from curating, cultural production and contemporary artistic practice.
Georgie Vega Porrata-Doria
Curator & cultural producer
Carola Bravo
Contemporary artist, educator & curator
Félix Suazo
Curator & art critic
Exhibition · Collection · Publication
Annual residents’
exhibition.
Biolumina brings together work from each cohort in an annual residents’ exhibition. Each artist in residence is required to donate one artwork for the exhibition; the work becomes part of Fundación Casa Mi Rey’s collection. The exhibition and the residents’ contributions are brought together in a book publication.