Warmest congratulations to Puerto Rican artist Miguel Luciano, whose magnificent art installation, “Joy, Love and Resistance in El Barrio,” features photographs by the great Hiram Maristany. On Saturday, May 3, 2025, there will be a community celebration of this public art project—a tribute to Hiram Maristany in East Harlem—at the Metropolitan Hospital (located at 1901 1st Avenue, New York, New York).
- May 3, 12:00pm Walking tour of project – Metropolitan Hospital (meet on 2nd Avenue between East 97th & 99th Streets)
- May 3, 1:00-3:00pm – Reception at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109 (215 East 99th Street)
Description: “Joy, Love and Resistance in El Barrio (2024)” is a permanent public art project at Metropolitan Hospital that commemorates the legacy of Hiram Maristany (1945-2022) and the proud history of El Barrio that lives on through his photographs.
Located at Metropolitan Hospital, the work was commissioned by NYC Economic Development Corporation and H+H Metropolitan Hospital and is embedded in a flood wall that surrounds the hospital.
Miguel Luciano explains, “I worked with Hiram to compose a selection of historic photographs from his archive that capture the joy, play, love and resistance that have shaped El Barrio’s history, from young people playing in the fire hydrants in the early 1960s to community members marching with the Young Lords by the late 60s and early 70s. The photos are reinterpreted in compositions that introduce color, light and reflective surfaces that invite the community to see itself reflected in this history.”
[. . .] “Hiram Maristany called his photography part history and part documentary, but most importantly, a way to uphold cultural identity. He is remembered as the people’s photographer of El Barrio, the community he loved, where he was a lifelong resident until his death in 2022” (National Museum of African American History and Culture).
For more information, visit https://mcdmag.com/2025/01/metropolitan-hospital-floodwall-in-new-york-built-to-withstand-extreme-storms/, https://www.instagram.com/miguelluciano_ny/p/DDIfnVARt36/?img_index=1, and https://www.instagram.com/p/DFsyQi7RH5S/ For more on the artists, see https://miguelluciano.com/ and https://nmaahc.si.edu/latinx/hiram-maristan
[Shown above: “Joy, Love and Resistance in El Barrio,” 2024; Miguel Luciano with photographs by Hiram Maristany; Ceramic frit on tempered glass panels. (Hiram Maristany photos: (1-4) Young Lords and community members march to free the Panther 21, 1969; (5-7) Hydrant: Hand, 1963; Hydrant: In the Air, 1963; (8-10) Young Man with Roses, 1971.)]
Warmest congratulations to Puerto Rican artist Miguel Luciano, whose magnificent art installation, “Joy, Love and Resistance in El Barrio,” features photographs by the great Hiram Maristany. On Saturday, May 3, 2025, there will be a community celebration of this public art project—a tribute to Hiram Maristany in East Harlem—at the Metropolitan Hospital (located at 1901
