Artist Elle Pérez is raising $100,000 to buy out relatives from a family home in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, that has been in their family since the 1920s, with the goal of transforming it into an artist residency called Casa Pérez. To fund the project, Pérez is selling a portfolio of chromogenic studio prints for $1,795 each, produced in collaboration with the cultural office Public Relations. The artist’s work, known for intimate portraits and scenes of underground music, has been featured in the Whitney Biennial and solo exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Art.
This initiative matters because it connects Pérez’s personal legacy to broader issues of cultural access and real estate development in Puerto Rico, where Cabo Rojo has seen controversial speculation, including a planned $2 billion resort. By creating a nonprofit residency, Pérez aims to offer other artists—both Puerto Rican and international—the same transformative experience of connecting with the island, while also preserving a family heritage site as a creative space. The project underscores how artists can leverage their market success to support community-oriented, politically resonant ventures.