Fredo Rivera Wins WaveMaker Grant for Performance Art Project
Fredo Rivera ’06, assistant professor of art history, and his collaborator KUNST (Julian Montalvo), have received a WaveMaker incubator grant of $6,000 from Locust Projects, Miami’s longest-running nonprofit alternative art space. Their project, “island bound: an exercise in decolonizing drag,” is a collaborative performance involving sculptural installation that explores decoloniality and queer resistance in the context of Puerto Rico. The project draws upon a wide range of sources, including historical archives, cartography, the built environment, soundscapes, and contemporary visual cultures of the “postcolonial colony.” WaveMaker grants are part of a regional regranting program supported by the Warhol Foundation.
“This project builds upon my research and teaching on the art of drag, as well as previous support from the Cantwell-Wegman Grant for Public Engagement from Grinnell’s Center for the Humanities. I am excited to collaborate with my colleague and drag sobrinx (niece) KUNST, as we create a performance where our vestments are bound to and extend from a sculptural representation of la isla,” says Rivera.
Professor Rivera’s current research includes art and architecture in modern Cuba, Haitian art, photography and visual culture, and the relationship of the art world and real estate development in contemporary Miami. In addition to a Ph.D., Rivera holds a Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Duke University (2015), a Master of Arts degree in art history from Duke University (2010), and a Bachelor of Arts (Africana studies and art history, with honors) from Grinnell College (2006).
ABOUT WAVEMAKER GRANTS
WaveMaker at Locust Projects supports Miami’s visionary artists with incubator grants for innovative projects shared with the public in unconventional spaces.
Since 2015, WaveMaker has awarded $450,000 in funding to 90 of Miami’s visionary artists. Grantees receive up to $6,000 each in three categories: New Work / Projects, Long-Haul Projects, and Research and Development + Implementation. In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-driven mission, WaveMaker recipients experiment and take risks, creating innovative work that is shared with the public in unconventional spaces.
WaveMaker is made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program, a network of 32 regranting partners across the country. Founded in 2015 by the former nonprofit Cannonball, WaveMaker has been administered by Locust Projects, Miami’s longest-running nonprofit alternative art space, since 2017.