(LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ) -- The Rider University Art Gallery presents an exhibit of works by Salina Almanzar titled Ni de aquí, Ni de allá - On Being a Third Generation Dominirican Tuesday, September 3 through Sunday, October 13.  An opening reception and an artist’s conversation with Gallery Director Julia Marsh is planned for Thursday, September 12 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

Salina Almanzar is from Lancaster, Pa. and a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, where she majored in Studio Art and English Literature. She also holds a master’s degree in Arts Administration from Drexel University, where her thesis topic was Creative Placemaking in the Lancaster Latinx community. She researched and wrote about the ways that the Latinx community in her hometown have created spaces for cultural preservation and the obstacles or successes they may have faced up to this point. She has continued her research collecting stories and create opportunities for cultural preservation in Lancaster.

Additionally, she serves on the Lancaster School Board, the youngest person and first Puerto Rican to serve on the Board. She is also Chair of the Public Art Advisory Board.

Amanzar says, “I am a Puerto Rican and Dominican artist, educator, writer, social justice warrior but most importantly the second oldest of 7 awesome small-manzars. My passion and life work is to educate, critique, and examine how my people and culture are represented in the arts. My art and scholarship explore the intersections of Latinidad, feminism, decolonial practice, and Taino spirituality. I wake up every morning learning to embrace what it means to be ni de aqui y ni de alla. Everything I do is to help others like me feel united with the diaspora and discover the beauty and freedom that can exist in the margins.”

The Rider University Art Gallery is located in the Bart Luedeke Center on Rider University’s campus, 2038 Lawrenceville Road, in Lawrenceville, N.J. It is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday from noon to 4:00pm. To learn more, visit www.rider.edu/arts.

 IMAGE: Nosotros Vencermos, a mixed-media work by Salina Almanzar.