In an unprecedented collaboration organized by El Museo del  Barrio with the Queens Museum of Art and The Studio Museum in Harlem, CARIBBEAN: Crossroads  of the World, an ambitious and trailblazing exhibition, will highlight over two centuries of rarely-seen  works from the Haitian Revolution (c. 1804) to the present. The show features more than 400 works  including painting, sculpture, prints, books, photography, film, video and historic artifacts from various  Caribbean nations, Europe and the United States. Transcendent in scope, CARIBBEAN: Crossroads  examines the exchange of people, goods, ideas and information between the Caribbean basin,  Europe and North America and explores the impact of these relationships on the Caribbean and how  it is imagined. This citywide endeavor, supported by a major grant from MetLife Foundation, opens in  the midst of Caribbean American Heritage Month, observed nationally during the month of June.

Arnaldo Rabell, We Have to Dream in Blue

CARIBBEAN: Crossroads will be on view to the public at all three institutions. To encourage viewers  to visit the entire exhibition, paid admission to any of the venues will include a ticket good for  complimentary entry to the other two sites.  El Museo del Barrio: June 12, 2012 to January 6, 2013 at the Queens Museum of Art: June 17, 2012 to January 6, 2013 and The Studio Museum in Harlem: June 14, 2012 to October 21, 2012

Drawing upon new research of the last decades  conducted here and abroad, the project will advance understanding of the Caribbean as a crossroads  for the modern world within the Western hemisphere. It will break new ground in areas of scholarship  that have been neglected, such as the intense and complex dialogue between the Caribbean and the  United States. Furthermore, it will address a series of themes inspired by geopolitical, ethnographic,
historical and cultural events that have influenced the way the Caribbean looks—and the way it is  imagined. Several institutions, including the Americas Society, Bronx Museum and Nathan Cummings  Foundation, among others, will mount related, concurrent exhibitions throughout the city.

Margarita Aguilar, Director of El Museo del Barrio, notes: “El Museo del Barrio is very proud to be  leading groundbreaking research into the artistic heritage of a region that scholars have too often  overlooked. With our visionary collaborators, we are expanding our understanding of the region. The  rich history of the Caribbean and its global impact is astonishing, and we look forward to celebrating  this with our communities through the arts.”

Among the many featured artists are Janine Antoni, John James Audubon, Jean Michel Basquiat,  David Bade, Myrna Báez, Alvaro Barrios, José Bedia, Ernest Breleur, Agostino Brunias, José  Campeche, Tony Capellán, Esteban Chartrand, Jaime Colson, Winifred Dania, Edouard DuvalCarrié, Sandra Eleta, Paul Gauguin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Enrique Grau, May Henriquez,  Winslow Homer, Hector Hyppolite, Yubi Kirindongo, Wifredo Lam, Hugo Larson, Mark  Latamie, Norman Lewis, Elvis Lopez, Edna Manley, Leo Matiz, Isaac Mendes Belisario, Ana  Mendieta, Jesús “Bubu” Negrón, Ebony G. Patterson, Amelia Peláez, Marcel Pinas, Camille  Pissarro, Ryan Oduber, Francisco Oller, Armando Reveron, Arnaldo Roche Rabell and Ernesto  Salmerón.

“We’ve employed a polyphonic perspective to deal with a huge archipelago that it is as diverse and  complex as New York City, which is, to many, the largest Caribbean city,” reflects Project Director  Elvis Fuentes. “For the first time ever, this project will examine the impact of Africa, South Asia and  Europe on the visual culture of the Caribbean, including painters that were part of the Impressionists  and Surrealists in France, to homegrown schools recovering popular traditions and developing  original styles…the public will realize how intertwined the Caribbean and American experiences truly  are.” CARIBBEAN: Crossroads will explore six distinct themes split amongst the three venues.

EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO

Counterpoints reflects on Caribbean plantation systems and industries such as sugar, fruit, tobacco  and coffee, which had tremendous aesthetic and social impact while proving to be a source of  wealth and conflict. Patriot Acts studies the idea that artists and intellectuals in the Caribbean  were instrumental in the creation of the identity, both visual and conceptual, of the young Caribbean  nations, which often pitted traditional, academic aesthetics against the “authentic,” indigenous and  African past of the region.

El Museo del Barrio, New York’s leading Latino cultural institution, welcomes visitors of all  backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of Latino, Caribbean, and Latin American cultures.  Their richness is represented in El Museo’s wide-ranging collections and critically acclaimed  exhibitions, complemented by film, literary, visual and performing arts series, cultural celebrations,  and educational programs. Voces y Visiones: Gran Caribe will be on view at El Museo del Barrio  concurrently with CARIBBEAN: Crossroads, giving visitors a deeper understanding of the Caribbean  presence i American culture. Gran Caribe features works drawn from El Museo del Barrio’s wideranging Permanent Collection, exploring the vast diversity and complexity of the Caribbean basin.  elmuseo.org, 1230 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029

THE QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART

Fluid Motions examines the complexities of the geographical and geopolitical realities of a region  made up of islands and coastal areas, connected and separated by bodies of water. Kingdoms of  this World considers the amazing variety of languages, cultures and religions that co-exist in the 3 Caribbean, and their role in the development of popular traditions such as syncretic religions, newly  created language, and the carnival.

The Queens Museum of Art was established in 1972 to provide a vital cultural center in Flushing  Meadows Corona Park for the borough’s unique, international population. Today it is home to the  Panorama of the City of New York, a 9,335 square foot scale model of the five boroughs, and features  temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art that reflect the cultural diversity of Queens,  as well as a collection of Tiffany glass from the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass. The Museum  provides valuable educational outreach through a number of programs geared toward schoolchildren,  teens, families, seniors and individuals with physical and mental disabilities.  queensmuseum.org, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368

THE STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM

Shades of History explores the significance of race and its relevance to the history and culture of the  Caribbean, beginning with the pivotal moment of the Haitian Revolution in 1804. Race is analyzed as  a trigger for discussions on human rights, social status and beauty. Land of the Outlaw addresses  the dual images of the Caribbean as a utopic place of pleasure and a land of deviance and illicit  activity. Here artists debunk widespread myths and stereotypes, such as those of pirates, zombies  and drug smugglers. “CARIBBEAN: Crossroads is a vital extension of the Studio Museum’s commitment to exhibiting a  broad and diverse range of artistic practices,” declares Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of  The Studio Museum in Harlem. “We are thrilled to partner with our peer institutions, El Museo and the  Queens Museum, to present this exceptional opportunity to explore the art, culture and history of a  region that has influenced and inspired artists of African descent for centuries.”

The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally and  internationally and for work that has been inspired and influenced by black culture. It is a site for the  dynamic exchange of ideas about art and society.  studiomuseum.org, 144 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027