“El Portal del Yunque: Presence and Lichen” by Ivelisse Jiménez is part of the NATURA exhibition placed along the Science and Conservation Trail of El Portal visitor center in the El Yunque National Forest. The artwork brings lichen to enormous scale using acrylic sheeting and paint.

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Natural Selections

Letras Boricuas implied a collective ‘We’ that...entwined us in a Boricua creative net without borders, where island and diaspora writers were equally recognized.

Credit: Alberto Bartolomei, courtesy of Flamboyan Foundation

Francisco Font Acevedo wearing a pink dress shirt and glasses standing outdoors in front of a black painted wall leaning on a low concrete barrier

The Letras Boricuas Fellowship provided me with an income to aid me financially, while betting on the continuation of a literary work that was just beginning to break the harsh silence of exile. 

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Francisco Font Acevedo 

A Bordering Net

Who Are the Artists of Maniobra?

Preview: Maniobra

Our grantmaking is designed to redress past underfunding, address urgent needs, and build sustainable intellectual, cultural, and archival infrastructure.

Funding to date in Puerto Rico

Photo: Sharif Hamza for Mellon Foundation

Headshot of Elizabeth Alexander

Our commitment to the arts and humanities in Puerto Rico honors the rich multiplicity of experiences and cultural expressions in the archipelago and diaspora.

A news announcement of a new three-year, $8M initiative, funded by Mellon Foundation, employs 37 artists at 25 organizations across the archipelago.

Centro de Economía Creativa and Mellon Foundation Announce “Maniobra” in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican artists share what Maniobra means to them.

The Centro de Economía Creativa (CEC) launched Maniobra to facilitate stable employment opportunities for artists while strengthening the bandwidth of community-based cultural organizations across Puerto Rico. Photo: Yelitza Rodriguez / EyeEm / Getty Images

In close up, a hand holds a prism through which a beach scene is reflected.

Maniobra Means “to Handle”… and So Much More

What lessons do Puerto Rico’s creatives and thinkers offer today—and for the future? 

Miguel Luciano, “Studebaker, Plátanos y Machete (detail),” 2017, MADMi, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In the event art for Puerto Rico Now, a machete sits on a table with a bunch of bananas

Originally livestreamed on July 28, 2022. This event included Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander, Dr. Yarimar Bonilla, Alana Casanova-Burgess, and Daniel Lind-Ramos.

Puerto Rico Now!

Mellon M logo on turquoise blue background

The funding is aimed at addressing the most urgent needs in the wake of the storm and supporting communities as they equip themselves for a future in which severe climate events are more frequent.

Support for Ongoing Post-Fiona Recovery Efforts and More in Puerto Rico

Miguel Luciano’s Freedom Rider Vest (homage to Felícitas Méndez), 2011. Photo: courtesy Miguel Luciano

A black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

Puerto Rico and Its Diaspora

In a vertical image, a black leather vest is adorned with colorful pins across the front of it. Embroidery on the vest reads: "Felícitas "La Prieta" Méndez" 

Artists as Catalysts

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Beyond Incarceration

A side profile of a Black poet who is wearing glasses and a hat with a feather hat pin.

Civic Engagement

A man in a brown jacket stands in front of blue bulletin board that is covered with papers and advertisements  

Evolving Higher Education

A vertical image of an Indigenous person who is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop.

Expanding Public Knowledge

An interior room filled with audio and video equipment 

Monuments and Memory

A multicolored painted totem pole set in front of a foggy forest landscape

Multivocality

Five people stand together in a group photo. They are laughing and smiling.

Power of the Word

Five colorful neon signs hang on the wall with messages that include, "Freedom cannot wait," "Brown owned," and "America is for Dreamers."

Public Places‚ Public Stories

A group of Indigenous Maskoke people stand and sit in the wooden frame of a structure in a woods

University Everywhere

Students walk through the campus of the University of Hawaii

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Mission

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History

Grantmaking areas

Grantmaking Areas

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People

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Financials

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News

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Events