About us | The Schomburg

Our Story

For over two decades, my work has explored the emotional landscape of homesickness through the creation of non-traditional physical spaces—spaces imbued with layered meaning and open to reinterpretation. As an interdisciplinary artist working across performance, installation, and photography, I use displaced elements—objects, garments, and the body itself—as tools to reimagine both personal and collective narratives. These installations act as a process of unveiling the pressures of systemic invisibility and exclusion, allowing memory, resistance, and identity to take tangible form.

El Schomburg | Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, incorporated in 2023, emerged from a long-overdue vision: to establish a dedicated space for the visibility, production, and teaching of art rooted in the Puerto Rican experience. Grounded in cultural affirmation, storytelling, and collective healing, El Schomburg serves as a platform to uplift and contextualize Puerto Rican artistic expression in meaningful, innovative ways. This creative initiative was made possible with the support of the Chicago Business Development (CBD) program, led by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.

Since its inception, El Schomburg has presented over a dozen exhibitions and cultural events that bring this vision to life. It proudly serves as a vessel for amplifying Puerto Rican artists and fostering cultural dialogues that transcend traditional boundaries.

Our progress has been shaped by the extraordinary support, partnership, and mentorship of community allies, including the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Tiznando el País (Mellon Foundation), Trailer Park Projects, Consuelo Lee Corretjer Family Day Care Center, National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, AfriCaribe Cultural Center, 26th Ward Alderperson Jessie Fuentes' Office, Hispanic Housing Corporation, Erie Elementary Charter School, After School Matters, Roberto Clemente Academy, Flourish Art Accelerator, Sueños Festival and countless artists and community members that had lifted this project with their work, ideas and dreams.

Brenda Torres-Figueroa, founder.

Meet The Director.

Photo credit: Herminio Rodriguez

BRENDA TORRES-FIGUEROA

Founder of el Schomburg | Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo

Brenda Torres-Figueroa is an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and art educator whose work examines art, storytelling, and materiality through a decolonial perspective. Her practice critically explores traditional and contemporary art forms, histories, and concepts related to the idea of home.

In 2018, during Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane María, Brenda restaged and curated nearly two decades of her unedited work. Her series Dressed as Home and Refuge reflects on the transnational and intergenerational effects of homesickness and nostalgia. Through intimate family photographs, mixed media artifacts, and performance installations, she addresses themes of displacement and belonging.

In 2023, Brenda founded El Schomburg, Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, a contemporary art space named after Afro-Puerto Rican historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. This space prioritizes the visibility, circulation, and production of art from Puerto Rico and its diaspora, supporting collaborative creative projects and fostering artistic innovation.

Brenda holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is also an alumna of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (Class of 2002). Notable honors include being named a 2022 3Arts Make a Wave recipient and a 2024 Mellon Foundation grantee through the Tiznando el País initiative in Puerto Rico.

Brenda’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. She consistently pushes the boundaries of her artistic practice by engaging with diverse communities and cultural narratives. Her exhibitions, often in collaboration with local artists and communities, create immersive experiences that challenge perceptions of identity, belonging, and cultural memory.

Beyond her personal practice, Brenda seeks to foster dialogue around the complexities of cultural identity, especially within the context of Puerto Rican heritage and the broader diaspora. Through her curatorial projects, she amplifies underrepresented voices, particularly Afro-Puerto Rican and other marginalized communities, creating platforms for discussion and creative exchange.

As an art educator, Brenda is passionate about developing programs that empower young artists to explore their own narratives. Her interdisciplinary teaching approach integrates various media, critical thinking, and collaborative practices, equipping students to become active contributors to the art world.

Brenda remains committed to using her work and platform to advocate for social justice, equity, and representation in the arts. Through her efforts at El Schomburg and her ongoing artistic practice, she strives to inspire future generations of artists and thinkers to embrace their unique identities and share their stories.

Inside the praxis

Brenda Torres-Figueroa

Fajardo, Puerto Rico 1976

Lives and works in Chicago, IL

Artist Statement

I tend to recreate spaces filled with tactile, aromatic and visual confabulations, while redefining the ocean and the sky as a recurring metaphor representing a liminal "nonspace" – a site of both execution and enduring record of displacement. Brenda Torres-Figueroa, 2024

When I moved to Chicago for the first time over two decades ago, I carried a few items that would come to define a great deal of my artistic practice—a framed picture of the sky after Hurricane George, a heart-shaped music box, a plastic container filled with soil from my parent's backyard, and some old enaguas that once belonged to my grandmother.

It was not until recently that I came to accept that I may be ancestrally a nomad, or maybe preceded by peoples without soil or remembrance, just pushing forward while honoring the fragility of a trail left behind. Through that reckoning, my practice became more so of a nostalgic archeologist, co-existing between two places, reuniting and layering pieces with their reimagined origin. I use art to connect and extend time, and to question the neverending fragmentation and residues of our memories.

Through the years, I intentionally collect arrival stories from community members across generations with a particular interest in the objects that accompany them, highlighting how these artifacts embody joy, grief, nostalgia, pride, loss, and hope for unreachable homelands. Over time, these items not only reframed the concept of a home that was out of reach but also allowed me to redefine home and its borders, not just as physical spaces, but as transient, ephemeral constructs that idealized the past in all its emotional realms.

My artistic practice is a journey through the intricacies of personal history and the profound experience of displacement. As a racialized woman, I engage with themes of home, and the fragmented memories associated with migration, motherhood and belonging. Utilizing a diverse array of media—performance art, installation, and photography—I delve into my own family narrative while also reflecting on the shared histories of our communities. My work seeks to reimagine and reinterpret the past to challenge prevailing narratives.

Nostalgia as Exploration: I view my creative process as "nostalgic archaeology," where I unearth and reinterpret both personal and ancestral artifacts. By revisiting family recipes, documents, and heirlooms, I intertwine my personal memories with significant historical and political events—such as the consolidation of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, the Puerto Rican migrations, the survival of Hurricane Maria and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder—allowing me to understand the present through the lens of the past.

Redefining Home: I confront the romanticized concept of home, revealing it to be a complex and often elusive idea, particularly for those who have experienced displacement. Home is not merely a physical space; it is a transient, emotional construct—a "geopolitical border and restless container" that reflects the realities of those who are unrooted.

Intergenerational Dialogue: My work emphasizes the importance of collaboration and the sharing of stories across generations. By engaging my audience in this larger narrative, I create a space for collective reflection and understanding.

Resistance and Visibility: Through my art, I aim to challenge systemic inequalities and bring visibility to the often-invisible experiences of Black and Brown bodies. My artistic practice serves as a form of resistance, disrupting dominant narratives and fostering visibility through installations and performances that reimagine domestic spaces and confront the commodification of such experiences.

Material and Sensory Engagement: I employ tactile, aromatic, and visual elements in my work, layering immersive experiences that engage multiple senses and deepen the emotional resonance of my themes.

In essence, my artistic vision is an exploration of the past to illuminate the present and inspire a more inclusive future, with a particular focus on the experiences of displacement and the ongoing q

EDUCATION

2004 Masters in Fine Arts, School of the Art Institute de Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

2000 Bachelor of Arts, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras

RESIDENCIES

2002 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine

2021 The HoneyComb Network, Chicago, IL

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE (Selected)

2023– Owner | El Schomburg | Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo Chicago IL

2021/2023 Director of Educational Programming | SRBCC Chicago, IL

2016/2021 Integrated Arts Teacher | The Chicago High School for the Arts, Chicago, IL

2008/2016 Arts Educator & Chair of Mission/Community Relations | PACHS HS, Chicago IL

2006/2008 Curator | Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, Santurce Puerto Rico

ONGOING PROFESSIONAL COMMITMENTS

2023– Puerto Rican Agenda, Arts and Culture Co-Chair

Colectivo Sayba, Puerto Rican Bomba Ensemble, co-lead manager

2025- Music and Culture Educator | Erie Charter School, Chicago IL

2024/2025 La Casita de Bomba lead teacher, Centro Infantil Consuelo Lee Corretjer

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos Building Arts Consultant | Hispanic Housing Corp.

Entrepreneurship in the Arts Lead teacher, After School Matters

AWARDS

2025 FLOURISH Art Accelerator Recipient

2023 Tiznando el Pais (Quimeras) | Mellon Foundation

2021 3Arts Make a Wave Art Grantee, Chicago, IL

2003 City of Chicago Artist Grants, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs

2001 Merit Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS

Eli and Edyth Broad Museum, Michigan State University, Lansing Michigan

ARTIST’S EXHIBITION RECORD (Indicates performance*)

Solo Exhibitions

2025 Residual*, Edith Broad Museum | Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

2024 Quimeras El Schomburg | Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, Chicago IL

2021 Dressed as Home and Refuge to Amend, Honey Comb Network, Chicago IL

2020 Dressed as Home and Refuge | Humboldt Park Boathouse Gallery, Chicago IL

2004 Las Negritas No lloran, Sin Título Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, San Juan PR

2001 Al Sur del Océano, Pedro Albizu Campos Museum, Chicago IL

2000 La femme qui n'existe pas*, Sin Título Contemporary Art Gallery, San Juan, PR

Vestida de Hogar y Refugio*, Espacio ?, #157 San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Group Exhibitions

2025 Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People El Centro, New York

Puerto Rican Women in the Arts, El Schomburg | Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo, Chicago IL

2024 Antifuturismo Cimarrón, Museo Casa Escute, Carolina, Puerto Rico

Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People Edith Broad Museum Lansing,

Michigan.

Coastal Relations: Enacting Diaspora, Avery Research Center, Charleston, South Carolina

Persistencia, Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, Chicago, IL

Silencio* | El Schomburg | Espacio de Arte ContemporáneoChicago, IL

White Noise: Reordering Chaos, El Schomburg, Chicago IL

Black Brazil Biennale, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2023 Contemplaciones, Galeria de la Facultad de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

Trenzando Identidades, Museo Casa Escute, Carolina PR

2022 The Asian Art Biennale of Bangladesh, Dakha, Bangladesh

2019 Anarquía y Dialectica del Deseo, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico

2008 Lick* Collaborative performance with Faith Wilding for the Hemisphere Conference Chicago

2005 Homelessness* Sin Título Galería de Arte Contemporáneo, San Juan PR

2004 Colored Girls Don't Cry, Curated Project: MFA Thesis Show, Gallery 2 SAIC, Chicago, IL

2003 Puerto Rico and Colombia: Caribbean Connections, Galería Tinta Roja. Chicago, IL

2002 An Ocean Without Red Boats*, L’Montage, Art Institute of Chicago

Haciendo Patria, Collage Gallery of the Americas. Chicago, IL

The Body as a Poetic Space, Collage Gallery of the Americas, Chicago, IL

2001 Underbride*, Women Performance Jam Benefit Fall, Chicago, IL.

Rojokirmizi,* Lady Fest Midwest Chicago, Chicago, IL

2000 Y para cada Santa hay una vela*, Insight Arts, Chicago IL

Public Intercourse/ Nuptial Discourse*, Women Performance Jam Benefit, Chicago

1999 Clonación II, Museo de Arte de Caguas. Caguas PR

Fotografía Medio de Visíón e Ideas, Galería Francisco Oller, UPR Río Piedras

Artículos Femeninos, Universidad Interamericana, Hato Rey, PR

1998 Cuarta Bienal de Artes Plásticas, Museo Casa Roig, Humacao, PR

BIBLIOGRAPHY/media

Brenda Torres-Figueroa, El Centro

Expert Advice: Brenda Torres-Figueroa

Afro-Puerto Rican woman explores racial, and gender identity through art in Chicago

Afro-Boricua Feminine Aesthetics for Survival and Protection: A Conversation with Afro-Puerto Rican Visual Artist Brenda Torres-Figueroa

PROJECTS DESIGNED | CURATORIAL

2024 Diaspora | Recent works by Raul Ortiz Bonilla, El Schomburg Espacio de Arte

Contemporáneo, Chicago IL

A WHITE NOISE: REORDERING CHAOS, El Schomburg Espacio de Arte

Contemporáneo, Chicago IL

2014 HOMECOMING: Selection of Puerto Rican Artists in Chicago, 2014-2015 National

Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, Chicago, IL

2010 CAUSE IT MIGHT FADE AWAY | Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, Chicago, IL

2006-2008 FEMINISMOS: Ensayo sobre el Cuerpo, la Conducta y el Artificio Museum of

Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico

DESEMBARCOS: Reflexiones de una ISLA Barco Museum of Contemporary Art of

Puerto Rico

RESTOS: Estudio Arteológico/REMAINS: Arteological Study Museum of Contemporary

Art of Puerto Rico

OBJETOS DE GRAVAMEN Y CAUSA: Interpretaciones Contemporáneas sobre el tema

del consumo BPPR HALL –Museum of Contemporary Art of Puerto Rico

LECTURES/ PANELS/PRESENTATIONS

2024 Antifuturismo Cimarron, “Soñar el Pasado "SOÑAR EL PASADO: UN EJERCICIO DE

FABULACIÓN CRÍTICA DESCOLONIAL EN EL ARTE", UPR, Rio Piedras

2023 Comtemplaciones, Mirada hacia el futuro, Cumbre Afro Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

2022 Panel Moderator, Cumbre Afro, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Puerto Rico

200 Performance program lecture at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

2008 Curando Latino América Program at Centro Cultural de España, El Salvador [Curatorial Lecture] 2007 Panel Moderator—Colloquium: Remains: Collective Memory, MAC

Panel Moderator— Forum: On Abstraction: Noemí Ruiz, MAC

Panel Moderator— Forum: Digital Art Research, MAC

Panel Moderator-Forum: Hybridism, MAC

Panel Moderator—Colloquium: Art consumption and market, MAC

2005 Brenda Torres Figueroa- Last Call, Fine Arts Department, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

2003 Brenda Torres-Figueroa & Edra Soto: Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists in Chicago Lecture

Series, Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, Chicago IL

Women on Migration- DePaul University, Chicago, IL

2003— Dime que me amas... (a work in progress) Performance Department Lecture Series, The School

of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL

2001— Refugios, Performance Department Lecture Series, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

PUBLICATIONS/ESSAYS (Selected)