The Allentown Art Museum welcomes three works by artists of Puerto Rican heritage and kicks off a season of cultural celebration starting February 26, 2026.
Two of these artists, Nitza Tufiño and Wanda Maria Quiñones, were part of the Nuyorican Movement in the 1970s. This movement included artists, poets, and musicians who created work about the Puerto Rican experience in New York. Artists like Tufiño and Quiñones often drew inspiration from the art of the Taíno, an Indigenous people of the Caribbean, as a way of celebrating Puerto Rican identity.
Glendalys Medina, a contemporary artist, builds on the legacy of the Nuyorican movement legacy with Atabey, a multimedia work that depicts the Taíno mother goddess while also alluding to hip hop and Spanish colonization.
These three works tell important stories about ancestry, diaspora, and art as activism—adding to the rich range of voices and experiences represented in the Museum’s American galleries.
These works are part of a two-year loan from El Museo del Barrio, made possible through the support of the Art Bridges Foundation. They will be on view at the Allentown Art Museum from February 26, 2026, through February 20, 2028.
ABOVE: Nitza Tufiño (b.1949), Pareja Taína, 1972, acrylic, charcoal and polyurethane on Masonite, framed: 49 x 48 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. El Museo del Barrio, New York. Museum. Purchase through the support of George Aguirre, National Endowment for the Arts, Boricua College, the Reader’s Digest Foundation and individual contributions.
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The Museum is offering a series of free programs in 2026 related to these works, including:
Saturday, March 7, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Special ArtVentures for All Ages
Rosa Camacho, who received her B.A. in Fine Arts from Pontifical Catholic University in Puerto Rico, will lead a bilingual workshop on using Taino symbols to create an artwork that tells a story. No RSVP necessary, just drop in.
First Saturdays: March 7, April 4, May 2, 2-2:45 p.m.
Visitas públicas en español
This guided tour in Spanish of the American galleries features a discussion of the three works.
Saturday, March 28, noon-3 p.m.
Art Lab with Rigo Peralta
Rigo Peralta, a local artist from the Dominican Republic, will lead a bilingual aquatint workshop highlighting the rich printmaking history of Puerto Rico. Free, but please reserve space HERE.
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And, details coming soon for:
Verano Vibrante
June through October 2026
Verano Vibrante is the Museum’s summer-long celebration of Hispanic culture, tradition, and community. The festivities kick off in June with a Nuyorican Hip-Hop Bash filled with music, dance, food, and art inspired by Puerto Rican and Nuyorican traditions. The fun continues on the Third Thursday of each month with all-ages Art Lab workshops led by local artists with ties to the Caribbean. And there will be Hora de Cuentos–Spanish-language storytimes for families with young children. Together, these programs are intended to foster connection to, discovery of, and pride for the Allentown and greater Lehigh Valley community.
