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Date: 6/8/2022
EASTHAMPTON – When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017, it devastated the island and its people. Springfield artist Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegria was there and is remembering what the hurricane did to her homeland in an exhibition at Attack Bear Press in Easthampton.
Anaya-Alegria lived through the hurricane and recalls the horror of it all. She said the terror she felt during the storm was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Now as she looks back, she is using her acrylic and oil paintings to celebrate what happened to her homeland and people.
“I’m celebrating the ecology and devastation that happened in Hurricane Maria and by bringing in a tree as a focal point of my exhibition, I speak to nature itself and how it regenerates. We have this culture that when people die, they become our ancestors. I’m celebrating life and death,” she said.
There are seven pieces in Anaya-Alegria’s exhibition. They tell the story of a resilient people, rebounding and rebuilding their lives after a natural disaster that killed so many people.
“This is about the greatness and strength of people. The love of each other is what is important to me. This exhibition becomes a center of healing, a space where we can go and sit - where we can feel nature. People can talk about their own despair. These are healing moments,” she said.
Jason Montgomery is co-founder of Attack Bear Press and is pleased to be showing such a compelling exhibition.
“She is a huge part of the Puerto Rican community. We have been admirers of her work for years. The chance to have Alvilda take on this show is very exciting for us. I find her work to be exceedingly interesting. The work she does is exploding and finding a renaissance,” he said.
While Anaya-Alegria’s paintings are on display, she’ll be working on her memoirs as a writer in residence at Attack Bear Press. The story of her life will focus heavily on the violence and prejudice she experienced living in Lawrence.
“We had riots because people were putting on store fronts ‘no spics allowed’ and there was a lot of spitting at the Latino committee. The riots exploded one day when the French Canadians were throwing rocks at the Puerto Rican community. I lived through it all. It was a painful and traumatic experience,” she said.
Anaya-Alegria lives in Springfield these days, in a noisy, busy section of the city. She’s chosen to write her memoirs in the Eastworks building that houses Attack Bear Press because the location is so inspiring.
“That building is a prime place location. I wanted a space where the sun and breeze would come in and you can feel the river that runs behind it. I can center myself spiritually to write a story that is hard for me to tell,” she said.
Anaya-Alegria is writing near where her paintings are hanging. This allows her to mingle and chat with people who come to see her art. Visitors will have a unique chance to ask the artist what she was thinking when she expressed both pain and joy in her work.
The exhibit runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. now through June 13th. Admission is free. Eastworks is located at 116 Pleasant St., Suite 244, in Easthampton.