WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Box Gallery on Belvedere Road is truly a Hidden Gem.
"I'm what they call an artist or activist curator, I create the agendas that I want to present. And that makes it very unique," said Rolando Barrero.
The venue is more than a gallery; it serves as a neighborhood meeting house for people to discuss things like politics and social justice.
"There is so much concern with social justice, that I think it has affected almost every artist, even abstract artists," Barrero said.
And to celebrate all heritages by creating a space to develop richer understandings of all backgrounds.
"And I think we've been very successful in the last seven years that we've been here in rolling conversations between people that thought they were diametrically opposed," said Barrero.
One of the conversations Barrero is bringing to the gallery for National Hispanic Heritage Month is an exhibit that chronicles the desolation caused by people to Colombia's environment by Moisés Morales Duque from Colombia.
In creating his work Duque first has people create physical damage to his canvases.
"Kind of stepped on by children, by people leaving, their prints on it," said Barrero.
Then past the human destruction, in the background, he paints palm trees, gorillas, parrots, and more.
Barrero pointed to a palm tree in the background, "Then he carefully goes through the negative spaces."
Symbolically, Duque wants people to see the impact they have, either bad or good, on flora and fauna of Colombia.
"Part of that chaos that we are creating that we don't see it," said Duque.
The environment is just one of the conversations Barrero wants people to have during National Hispanic Month, "And if you sit down at a dinner table, or in a gallery, and you talk about your interpretation, without it being right, wrong, good or bad, people tend to empathize a little bit more."
Empathy, a trait the artists hope all people will gain this month, "Take away enrichment of that culture and a better understanding of who those people are," said Juan Carlos Badia Cabero, an artist who will be on display later in National Hispanic Awareness month.
Empathy for the 30+ Hispanic nations in the Americas all with unique stories.
"Just trying to expose the brown as well as a white and the black community from the variety of different countries that we come from," said Barrero.
The space will have artwork in it ready for display for the public on Saturday it's just one of the many on-site events planned for National Hispanic Awareness Month.
The Box Gallery
811 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach, FL 33405
(786) 521-1199
Box Gallery Events for National Hispanic Awareness Month
“THE ENVIRONMENTAL WORK" By Moisés Morales Duque (Colombia)
Opening Reception Saturday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.
Exhibition dates:
Sept. 25, 2021- October 30, 2021
From hummingbirds to palm trees, Colombian artist Moisés Morales Duque, has created a collection of aesthetically beautiful and complex visual works on canvas chronicling the devastation caused by climate change in Colombia. He is a recent graduate from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities from the University of The Andes in Bogotá, Colombia claims that his greatest concern is the preservation of endangered species within the flora and fauna of his homeland.
“Artistas de Las Americas”- Art Salon and Exhibition
Saturday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.
Artists: Juan Carlos Badia Cabero (España/Honduras), Ivonne Torres (Mejico), Oscar Rojas (Venezuela), Clara Piquet (Brasil/ Brazil), Nelson Babilonia (Puerto Rico), Christine Nightingale (Chile), Moises Morales Duque (Colombia), Nereyda Ruíz (Republica Dominicana), Juan Ramirez (Colombia)
“Los Escritores-The Writers" - Book Reading and Signing
Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
Novelists, poets, and art critics present published works in a meet and greet that includes readings, signings, Q and A session at The Box Gallery.
Latin American Authors: Eduardo Hernandez de la Pava, Jose Diaz-Diaz, Delia Marina Sanchez, and Ana Builes.
Stewardship and Conservation
Oct. 15 from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Speakers and Presenters:
Paul Fisher - The Gorilla Foundation and Palm Beach Parrot Organization
Drew Martin - Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group
Ginny Shaller - Philanthropist/ Collector
Matthew Schwartz -South Florida Wildlands Association
Moises Morales Duque - Sembrando Huellas Fundacion
