Public Art Turns El Yunque Into a Living Laboratory: ArteYUNQUE’s Third Edition Highlights Water, Memory and Community
El Portal, El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico —
In a bold move that blends art, ecology and local life, ArteYUNQUE is unveiling its third edition along the half‑kilometer Science and Conservation Trail at El Portal, the region’s main visitor hub. The project expands a public‑nature collaboration that has grown from a modest display into a living platform for site‑specific art embedded in a prime rainforest.
Originating as a Forest Service initiative to broaden public access to nature, the project rose from the ashes of Hurricane Maria in 2017, when El Yunque nearly vanished. The goal shifted from a small, decorative presence to a comprehensive, trail‑level program that places artworks directly within the rainforest itself.
Early debates among ecologists gave way to a fearlessly collaborative approach. The organizers say the forest’s rhythms guide the commissions, which are installed during October and left on view through July, embracing the forest’s seasonal dynamics and storms rather than trying to control them.
ArteYUNQUE’s first edition, in 2023, was a lean experiment. By the second, funding deepened with a three‑year Mellon Foundation grant and Bloomberg Philanthropies support, and all works gained QR codes linking to Bloomberg Connects for context and materials. The program has since become a magnet for Puerto Rico’s art scene,with each artist receiving a production budget,stipend and ownership of their work.
now, the third iteration, titled RÍO, places water at the center of a wider conversation about life, connectivity and ecological memory. The eight new commissions respond to El Yunque’s rivers and watershed as living, culturally charged networks that sustain communities on the island and beyond.
Among the standout interventions are works rooted in Taíno and Afro‑Caribbean memory. Daniel Lind‑Ramos reinterprets Taíno water deities through a totemic form crafted from irrigation pipes, anchored to the ground and oriented toward Loíza, his hometown and a hub of Afro‑Caribbean heritage. Edra Soto presents three suspended ceramic figures wrapped in silk, weaving river spirits with migration and resilience across time and space.
Gisela Colón’s monumental Ríos de Oro y Polvo fuses Saharan dust with water and mineral memory, inviting reflection on colonial extraction and its ongoing ecological impact. Jaime Suárez’s Barroglifos de El Yunque reimagines Indigenous petroglyphs as delicate ceramic spirals resting on mossy rocks, a vulnerable, time‑smeared dialogue with the landscape.
Other works place water at the core of domestic and ecological cycles. Dhara Rivera’s La lluvia, la casa y el río invisible stages a modular shelter whose clay vessels spring to life when rain arrives, linking El Yunque’s mountains to households far away. Frances Rivera González’s El Río se Hace Cuerpo honors each of the forest’s eight rivers with coconut palm and cabuya fibers that transform with humidity and time, celebrating Indigenous weaving in a contemporary context.
At the trail’s start,gisela Colón’s Dust Rivers (Ríos de Oro y Polvo) greets visitors with iridescent green forms that summon a history of resource exploitation while standing as guardians of the forest’s memory and water cycle. Edra Soto’s river‑to‑river piece, and Lind‑Ramos’s Yúcahu reference, anchor the exhibition in a broader conversation about memory, transformation and healing.
ArteYUNQUE’s approach remains deeply collaborative. Artists visit the site repeatedly to study location and impact, then work with ecologists, anthropologists and historians to ensure their interventions are respectful and reversible. The program’s “leave no trace” rule extends to material choices and installation methods, underscoring a ideology that art can coexist with living systems without compromising them.
The public response has been remarkable. The latest edition drew approximately 600,000 visitors, a figure cited as evidence that art can broaden who engages with nature in meaningful ways.Alongside the works, a program of music, poetry and performances has helped reframe the forest as a cultural and also ecological sanctuary.
Looking ahead, organizers plan to reproduce works from the inaugural edition in New York’s El Barrio, extending Puerto Rico’s rainforest conversation to the diaspora. A new video art exhibition, Todas las aguas Están Conectadas, opens January 17 inside the Ranger House—the oldest Forest Service structure in the U.S. system—featuring artists including dhara Rivera, Carolina Caycedo, Helen Ceballos, Sofía Gallisa Muriente and Emilia Beatriz. the aim is to broaden the site’s reach through multimedia storytelling while continuing to explore rivers,lagoons and seas as living,collective organisms.
ArteYUNQUE is presented as a living laboratory for ecological awareness, especially for younger generations. The team emphasizes that human intervention can be restorative when guided by care and scientific insight. The installation calendar is aligned with hurricane season, reflecting a pragmatic approach to environmental risk and seasonal dynamics.
Beyond its immediate impact, the project is seen as a model for how art and ecological stewardship can converge in public spaces. It demonstrates that contemporary practice, Indigenous memory, and environmental care can reinforce one another, inviting communities to listen, learn and participate in shaping their shared landscapes.
As the forest continues to breathe with the river,ArteYUNQUE’s third edition invites the public to witness how water becomes a conduit for memory,history and renewal. The project’s longevity will depend on sustaining engagement, documentation and partnerships that can scale its impact without compromising the forest’s delicate balance.
| Key Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Edition | Third edition of ArteYUNQUE |
| theme | RÍO — Water as生命, connection and memory |
| Location | El Portal, El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico |
| Trail Length | About 0.5 km (half a mile) |
| Lead partners | ArteYUNQUE in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and Friends of El Yunque |
| Support & Funding | Mellon Foundation (three-year grant); Bloomberg Philanthropies; Bloomberg Connects QR materials |
| Artists | Eight Puerto Rican artists (based on the island or in the diaspora) |
| Visitor footfall | Approximately 600,000 at the latest edition |
| Seasonality | installations timed around hurricane season (October–July) |
| Upcoming Exhibitions | New video show in Ranger House; New York representation planned for the diaspora |
Evergreen takeaways
ArteYUNQUE shows how public art can become a sustained ecological practice, not a one‑off gesture. By weaving Indigenous knowledge, local memory and ecological care into every commission, the project models a way for art to support conservation while expanding community access to culture.
As climate and biodiversity pressures intensify, embedding art within living ecosystems offers a blueprint for resilience. The emphasis on reversible, low‑impact interventions demonstrates how creativity can honor place without sealing it off from change.
what this means for readers
Public art can act as a catalyst for environmental education and civic engagement, turning protected spaces into shared cultural commons. The river‑centric approach invites audiences to reflect on water as a lifeline—connecting people, histories and future generations.
Questions for readers
Which river or waterway in your region would benefit most from a public‑art intervention that raises awareness about its ecological and cultural value?
How can communities balance preservation with creative experimentation to ensure both nature and art thrive side by side?
Share your thoughts in the comments below and tell us how you would map art to your watershed.
