¡WEPArt! Colectivo, a group of Puerto Rican artists based in Indiana, is opening its first-ever museum exhibition, "Our Island of Treasures: Puerto Rican Voices from Indiana," at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago. It runs from July 25, 2026 through February 19, 2027, with an opening reception on Saturday, July 25 from 11 AM to 2 PM CT. Fivonaccie is proud to be one of its supporters. We made a donation to back the collective's work, and we are not putting a number on it. The number is not the point. The art is.
The arts are not a luxury pinned on top of a culture. They are one of the truest ways a people says who it is, what it remembers, and what it still hopes for. That is what moves us, and it is a real part of what inspires the work we do every day. So when a group of Puerto Rican artists in Indiana earn a museum wall in Chicago to say all of that, we want to help make it happen.
About the show
"Our Island of Treasures" is the collective's first museum exhibition, curated by Daniel Del Real and presented by the museum in collaboration with ¡WEPArt! Colectivo. It brings together ten Puerto Rican artists living across Indiana, working across painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, and design, around themes of memory, migration, resilience, and cultural identity. The exhibition poster carries Elisa Barety's painting "Guardiana del Yunque."
The artists
Here are the ten artists whose work you will see, each worth a look on their own:
- Elisa Barety, visual artist. Her painting "Guardiana del Yunque" anchors the show's poster, and her work leans into the island's nature and Taíno roots.
- D. del Reverda-Jennings, interdisciplinary artist, with pieces like "Tres Mujeres: Medianoche" and "The Universal Struggle Between Roots and Wings."
- Mirvia Sol Eckert, visual artist whose titles, "Spirit of Resilience" and "Strength in Resistance," tell you where her work lives.
- Ita García, visual artist, with works named "Monte," "Sueño," and "Adentro."
- Angel Olivera, fashion designer, bringing a maker's eye to the room with pieces like "Sra. Tortuga."
- Ricardo Rosamar, multimedia artist working in painting and floral sculpture, whose diptych "Both Sides of the Table" sets Puerto Rico's tropical color against Indiana's quieter palette on a single shared tabletop.
- Frances Ruiz, visual artist who paints Puerto Rican life and rhythm, in works like "Bailando Bomba de Noche" and "Calle Luna."
- Carlos Sosa Pagán, multidisciplinary artist, with pieces like "Calle El Viejo San Juan" and "El Sol Taíno."
- Nettie Viera, visual artist whose work carries the island home, from "Isabela" to "PR Bandera."
- André Zhang Sonera, photographer, with images like "Agüita de Coco" and "Sabiduría de Abuela Loly."
A big season already
This museum show caps a season that was already special. In May and June, ¡WEPArt! mounted "Los Colores de Nuestra Isla / The Colors of Our Island" at the Indianapolis International Airport's Civic Plaza, an exhibition built to celebrate the first-ever nonstop flight between Indianapolis and San Juan. Think about that for a second. Puerto Rican artists from Indiana, hanging their work in the airport, to mark the day a direct flight finally tied Indiana to the island. We were glad to be part of that moment too.
We did not make any of this. The artists did, and the museum did. We are proud to stand behind them and to help where we can. If you are anywhere near Chicago between now and February, go see "Our Island of Treasures." And follow ¡WEPArt! Colectivo, because this is their first museum show, not their last.
