Casitas

My grandmother always shared stories of her life in the country, its beauty and complexity, living life in harmony with nature, but also walking barefoot on unpaved roads to arrive at the nearest school. In her honor, I began documenting wooden houses in 2013. It was an intimate project, guided by the nostalgia of a place that seemed to no longer exist. The intense colors, identifiable with Caribbean aesthetic, and the mountainous landscapes were my primary emphasis.

Casitas is a photography project that documents the living conditions of Puerto Ricans in the mountains of the island. The project aims to provide the international community a look into the current living conditions of fellow Americans by collecting oral history and learning about the residents, their families, and challenges they must overcome in the face of climate change, unstable electric service, limited economic support and many others. 


Donation Details
With the donations received so far I have been able to:

1) Print & exhibit 6 photographs of the series as part of a group exhibition at Kendall Art Center in Miami, for Art Basel 2019.
2) Ship the existing 6 photographs & print 16 new photographs to be part of a Solo Exhibition in Fort Worth, Texas at Artes de la Rosa Fort Worth Cultural Center for the Arts, which lasted from February until March, 2021.
3) Ship 22 photographs & print new photographs to be part of a Solo Exhibition in Humboldt Part, Chicago at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, where the show is currently on view since June 2021. 

After Chicago, "Casitas" is going to the Big Apple! The funds donated will cover the next location for this exhibition,New York, and eventually the closing exhibition at a local Museum in Puerto Rico. 

Your tax-deductible donation can help me cover multiple costs such as: printing and framing, and most importantly, shipping from Chicago to New York and then back home to Puerto Rico, shipping most definitely takes a large amount of costs to this traveling exhibition. 

I am humbled for your time in reading my story and I hope together we can continue supporting these families. 

Annie Y. Saldaña