Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shey ‘Rí Acu’ Rivera Ríos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shey ‘Rí Acu’, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

A work I’m very proud of is Antigonx, my first play which premiered in 2022 at The Wilbury Group Theatre in the WaterFire Arts Center (RI) and was also presented at the Magdalena Festival at Double Edge Theatre (MA). Antigonx is a queer, Boricua story inspired by the Greek tragedy of Antigone. In this version, the audience are travelers welcomed in the Motherboard of Ancestral Technologies, an altar space between dimensions. Here we are greeted by the lightworker Tiresias, who activates the Motherboard and awakens the spirits of Antigone and Ismene. We follow along a retelling of their story in the context of the island of Abundancia (inspired by the context of Borikén/Puerto Rico). The siblings struggle with the tensions of familial love, grief, and social responsibility in the midst of political upheaval in the island of Abundancia. This is a story of grief, spirit, and revolution. A time of cockfights, prayer, and radicalization. Who knows how to best show up to this time? Let’s witness. Let’s be together. The play was directed by Jackie Davis and created with the support of The Wilbury Group and Double Edge Theatre.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Yes, I am an interdisciplinary artist who uses storytelling across mediums to create immersive worlds of magic and liberation. I am Boricua, born and raised in the archipelago of Borikén, otherwise known as Puerto Rico, the oldest colony of the United States. I have 12 years of experience in the nonprofit arts sector intersecting creative practice with urban planning and racial equity. I formed myself as a leader during my time at AS220, a renowned arts organization, where I worked in the arts and community development sectors for 8 years. And, during my last 3 years there, I took on the executive leadership role as Artistic/Co-Director of AS220. After my time at AS220, I worked as Director of Inclusive Regional Development at MIT CoLab, in the Dept of Urban Studies and Planning of MIT. In this role, I co-designed and implemented workshops on collective leadership and community innovation in Colombia and led a small transnational team of facilitators. And, after that, I grounded on working directly with artists, cultural practitioners and community, through placekeeping projects such as El Corazon de Holyoke, a phenomenal community public art project in Holyoke, MA, as well as some beautiful projects in Providence. I also became part of the team at One Square World, where I supported meaningful efforts of community-driven policy design in Boston that used art and culture to create visioning on climate and racial justice for the city. Today, I am an independent artist and consultant specializing in strategic advising for arts nonprofits and leaders, the creative development of artist communities, the intersections of culture and urban planning, and arts management grounded on gender and racial justice. In 2022, I founded Studio Loba in Providence, a performance and storytelling lab that designs art and culture projects for social change. Studio Loba is the container for my wildest dreams of art and activism alongside artist collaborators and community.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

So many! Books, articles, music, poetry, all of it. Here are some I can recommend at the moment:
-Love After The End, An Anthology of Two-Spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction -Decolonization is not a metaphor (essay), Tuck and Yang
-Venus in Two Acts (essay), Saidiya Hartman
-Battle for Paradise, Naomi Klein
-The Zapatista Principles of Leadership
-Survivance, Gerald Vizenor
-Heart of a Shapeshifter, Coyote Park
-Postcolonial Love Poem, Natalie Diaz
-Design Justice Principles
-Almadura (album), iLé
-El juidero (album), Rita Indiana y los Misterios
-El pozo (album), Mima

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes, definitely. I’ve made it part of my practice to collect them and share out with others when I can, especially during workshops I provide through Assets for Artists. Three key resources are:
-Artwork Archive
-Assets for Artists Workshops, MASS MoCA
-Intercultural Leadership Institute
-W.A.G.E.

Contact Info:

• Website: sheyrivera.com
• Instagram: @studio.loba_
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheyrivera/
• Twitter: @sheyriverarios

Image Credits
Credits are in file names. Please especially note Cat Laine and Erin X. Smithers.