Originally from Venezuela, Gerardo Morantes is an art practitioner focused on Community Art-based Practices. He has a Cultural Resource Management degree from The University of Puerto Rico and a Social Communication degree from the University Rafael
TAP Work:
“As an immigrant, Gerardo struggled to finding opportunities in his particular field and passion, which is creating meaningful connections and transformative work with under-resourced communities through the arts. He joined TAP seeking human connections and collaborators beyond the field of administrative, and unfulfilling, professional roles in New York. In the process, TAP connected him to a basic understanding that he needed to pursue his passion and found a position in Community Engagement at The Guggenheim Museum. This intersected with the start of his fieldwork on collaborative art-making with TAP mentor Adriana Guzman. Our fieldwork group decided to work together on a group exhibition based on reflections pertinent to femme safety/violence. Gerardo’s final work for the exhibition is a composition that explores the physical and day-to-day expressions of symbolic violence against women in media.”
Most Memorable TAP Moment:
“My most memorable moment at TAP was a social-emotional education workshop Katie Rainey. I had never engaged in creating an artwork centered on my feelings and my body. Usually, I focus on the technique, the conceptual tradition of the work, the educational and interpretative potential for others. But for the first time, I created something that acknowledged my feelings and body. The biggest surprise was that I was satisfied with the product given the very brief time we were given. The work was inspired by one of my artistic inspirations, Jasper Johns, while at the same time, staying personal. I discovered that I have been prioritizing collective/institutional goals. But I was engaging in a cycle of self-erasure. I’ll take this experience with me anytime I intend to develop other artists in any setting.”
Find out more about Gerardo here
