Title
Recognizing Raúl Romero for his contribution to the lives of the students at the University of the Arts, its community, and the City of Philadelphia
Body
WHEREAS, Raúl Romero is an artist and educator based in Philadelphia, PA, working in sound, sculpture, installation, and performance who most recently served as Director of Special Projects at the University of the Arts (UArts). In this position he leveraged his skills and experience to create impactful programs that inspired his students and built relationships them, artists, and stakeholders in Philadelphia’s art community; and
WHEREAS, In his two years as director, he established an artist-in-residence program which brought twenty-eight artists to campus to exhibit their work as well as work across departments to engage directly with students and give them invaluable insight into their work; and
WHEREAS, He also oversaw three public campus galleries which exhibited professional artists and student work, forging relationships between artists and students as well as organizations like the City of Philadelphia’s Commerce Department, Vox Populi Gallery, Mural Arts Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival; and
WHEREAS, Romero is a scholar who was educated at world class institutions for the arts. He earned a B.A. in Communication from the University of South Florida and an MFA in Sculpture from Yale University School of Art; and
WHEREAS, Before his time at UArts, Romero served in a variety of artistic and educational roles including as a Film Coordinator and Lecturer at University of the Arts and Graduate Research Fellow and Teaching Fellow at Yale where he led workshops on sound art, animation audio recording, and videography and assisted students in class with projects conceptually and technically; and
WHEREAS, Romero is a critically acclaimed artist who has received awards from the Velocity Fund, an Andy Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting program, and the artist fellowship grant from the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures. He is a member of Vox Populi Gallery, a collective of artists based in Philadelphia. He has been a resident artist at the Lenapehoking Waterspirit Residency at PEEC, as well as RAIR, a recycling artist in residence program in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Romero is a native of Southern Florida and spent much of his childhood traveling to Puerto Rico with family, and he has used his art as a means to connect himself and others back to the island; and
WHEREAS, Romero’s works have been exhibited throughout the city at galleries which include the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Taller Puertorriqueño, and Pentimenti Gallery. His art has been on display throughout galleries across the country such as, The Kitchen in NYC, Locust Projects in Miami, FL, Yale School of Art in New Haven, CT, The Denver Contemporary Art Museum in CO, Transformer Gallery in D.C., The Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa, The Tampa Museum of Art and The Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes Raúl Romero for his contribution to the lives of the students at the University of the Arts, its community, and the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Raúl Romero as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
End