Our Mission
El Schomburg | Espacio de Arte Interdisciplinario is a Chicago-based art space dedicated to making visible the Puerto Rican experience through experimentation, collaboration, and critical reflection.
What we do
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Host exhibitions and installations of Puerto Rican and diaspora artists.
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Offer educational experiences, curatorial residencies for artists/creators of
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Produce performances and community-based projects that engage culture, memory, and identity
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Offers rehearsal, co-creative spaces focused on self-agency and collective interdependence.
Why It Matters
In a world that often erases or flattens Puerto Rican and Afro-Latine narratives, we provide a space where those stories are not only preserved—but reimagined. Through art, we challenge exclusion, defy invisibility, and craft new possibilities for belonging.
Meet the Founder
Brenda Torres-Figueroa is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores homesickness, migration, and identity from a decolonial perspective. Her installations, performances and community‐based projects have been presented nationally and internationally. In 2023 she founded El Schomburg to give voice and visibility to Puerto Rican and diaspora artists in Chicago.
Get Involved
• Visit us – We welcome school groups, families, and artists.
• Exhibit or collaborate – Learn more about artist opportunities.
• Support our mission – Your donation enables free workshops and exhibitions rooted in community.