“There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.” – Toni Morrison
Ariel Mercado is a Queer Afro-Bori conceptual artist from the Bronx who explores the intersections of poetry and visual arts. Their work centers around the domestic space, transcendental psychology, consciousness, the diaspora, and the nature/quality of identity. They explore semiotics as a Black Bi-Cultural Diasporican, and whether an artist can make work that is truly Black and esoteric. They utilize ritual/performance work as a medium to highlight the responsibilities of audiences to artists, consent, and trust. Mercado intends that their work will aid in creating tender and investigative intra-communal conversations.
TAP Work:
“I have enjoyed the experience of attending workshops and lectures with TAP. Each workshop has helped me to better engage with my fellow artists at my artist cooperative The Salon. It has helped my cooperative and myself consider how we can apply social emotional learning to our public workshops. The focus on arts education as activism and a tool for healing has been empowering, I’m excited to integrate what I’ve learned into the programming at my cooperative.”
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“My most memorable moment with TAP has been participating/facilitating our first Salon. It was wonderful being able to see the full breadth of everyone’s talent and creativity in a warm and accepting environment.”
Find out more about Ariel here:
