At "La Casa de Todos," Edra Soto invites us to celebrate home together. Alluding to Puerto Rican architectural vernacular with motifs of rejas (wrought iron screens) and quiebrasoles (decorative concrete blocks), the artwork forms a liminal space between inside and outside, belonging and othering, private and public. It mimics the distinctive marquesinas (porches) of working class Puerto Rican residences, a space that bridges the intimacy of the home and community. The work also acknowledges threads of colonial lineage and exposes how the act of being on a porch, especially in America, is not monolithic in meaning.
Featuring photographs of familial stories lended by Cleveland residents, Soto channels her own experience with the hope of resonating with others who see a familiar piece of home in a new place. Audio provided by collaborator deejay Sadie Woods layers the stories and identities behind these photos to create sounds of collective memory inherent to the experience of finding home. La Casa de Todos exemplifies how these transitional spaces become symbols of identity, resilience, and the diverse realities we face. Here, everyone is welcome.
About Edra Soto
Edra Soto is a Puerto-Rican born artist, curator, educator, and co-director of the outdoor project space, The Franklin. Growing up in Puerto Rico, and now immersed in her Chicago community, Soto’s work has evolved to raise questions about constructed social orders, diasporic identity, and the legacy of colonialism. Through visual art, social practice, and architectural intervention, Soto encourages a deeper understanding of our cross-cultural dynamics and sense of personal responsibility.
Soto has exhibited extensively at venues including Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, IL, ICA San Diego, CA and the Whitney Museum of American Art NY. She has been awarded the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, the Joyce Foundation Award, the Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, the 3Arts Next Level Fellowship, the inaugural Foundwork Prize, the Ree Kaneko Award and the US LatinX Art Forum Fellowship among others. Soto traveled and exhibited in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Cuba as part of the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund. She has attended residency programs at Skowhegan, ME, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, FL, Headlands, NY, Project Row Houses, TX and Art Omi, NY, among others. Recent presentations include the Chicago Architecture Biennial, O’Hare’s International Airport T5 Expansion Project and the commission of “Graft” from Public Art Fund at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park. Soto holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de Puerto Rico.
EN ESPAÑOL
En "La Casa de Todos," Edra Soto nos invita a celebrar el hogar en comunidad. Aludiendo al lenguaje arquitectónico vernáculo puertorriqueño con motivos de rejas (pantallas de hierro forjado) y quiebrasoles (bloques decorativos de concreto), la obra crea un espacio liminal entre el adentro y el afuera, la pertenencia y la otredad, lo privado y lo público. Imita las distintivas marquesinas de las viviendas puertorriqueñas de clase trabajadora, un espacio que conecta la intimidad del hogar con la comunidad. Esta instalación reconoce los hilos de una herencia colonial y expone cómo el acto de estar en un porche, especialmente en Estados Unidos, no tiene un significado único.
Presentando fotografías de historias familiares compartidas por residentes de Cleveland, Soto canaliza su propia experiencia con la esperanza de conectar con quienes reconocen un pedazo familiar de su hogar en un lugar nuevo. El audio, provisto por la colaboradora y DJ Sadie Woods, superpone las historias e identidades detrás de estas fotos para crear sonidos de una memoria colectiva inherente a la experiencia de encontrar un hogar. La Casa de Todos ejemplifica cómo estos espacios de transición se convierten en símbolos de identidad, resiliencia y de las diversas realidades que enfrentamos. Aquí, todos son bienvenidos.
Edra Soto, nacida en Puerto Rico, es una artista, curadora, educadora y co-directora del espacio de proyectos al aire libre, The Franklin. Creció en Puerto Rico, y ahora está profundamente inmersa en su comunidad en Chicago, su trabajo ha evolucionado para plantear preguntas sobre los órdenes sociales construidos, la identidad diaspórica y el legado del colonialismo. A través del arte visual, la práctica social y la intervención arquitectónica, Soto fomenta una comprensión más profunda de nuestras dinámicas interculturales y del sentido de responsabilidad personal.
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