For our October Lunch & Learn and with our Hispanic Heritage series, the History Center is proud to host an artist panel with Keepers of Heritage! Keepers of Heritage is an art collective of internationally known and award winning Puerto Rican Artists in Central Florida. So, let’s introduce our three artists!

Our first artist is Jose Feliciano. For years, Mr. Feliciano worked as a set designer and fabricator in New York for several theater productions before moving to St. Cloud. He is a lifelong painter and retired art teacher. His work has been displayed at the Osceola Arts and Polk Art Museum. Secondly, we have Michael Irizarry-Pagan. Mr. Pagan’s pieces are symbolic paintings of life as he sees it. His work has previously been exhibited at Osceola Arts. Our third artist is Rigoberto Torres. Rigoberto is a plaster and fiberglass life caster and a 20-year collaborator of renowned John Ahearn. He is a current resident of Kississimee, and his work has been displayed at the Polk Museum of Art. Their art also contributes to the current Keepers of Heritage exhibit at the Polasek Museum.

Our conversation will focus on their works, what inspires them, how their Puerto Rican heritage impacts their art, and more! Our Oral Historian, Dan Bradfield, and our Oral History Archivist, Aleksandra Ciecielag-Floto, will be hosting this Lunch & Learn.

This is a free event on the Zoom platform.