Solar Energy for Samuel Lind

On September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma slammed into the northeast coast of Puerto Rico, approximately ten days before Hurricane Maria swept through the entire island and added to the devastation. Samuel Lind lives in his art studio in Loiza, Puerto Rico, which was ravaged by Hurricane Irma before the arrival of Hurricane Maria. Consequently, Samuel Lind’s studio(which is also his home) was damaged by Irma, and like most of his Loiza compatriots, Samuel has not has electrical power since September 6, 2017. Samuel is one of the most accomplished and revered visual artists in Puerto Rico, both as a painter and as a sculptor. However, five months without electric power has damaged some of his art work and has impacted on his health. Without electricity, it is difficult for him to work on his art. He has cut holes in his ceiling, and replaced a few wooden roof boards with transparent plastic sheets in order to provide light in his studio during the daylight hours. Additionally, he stores his food in a plastic beach freezer for which he has to buy ice daily. Since his ceiling fans do not work, some his paintings are covered in mold and his studio is infested with mosquitos.

As has been well reported, the Puerto Rican Power utility has been unable or unwilling to move expeditiously in providing electric service to a number of communities, that because of poverty or politics do not seem to merit the same interest as more affluent or “politically connected” communities. This very week, work to restore electricity to Loiza by the AEE has been stopped because of “lack of equipment and materials”. The residents of Loiza have been apprised that the dates for the restoration of electrical power in their community, is unknown, and possibly months away.

Samuel Lind’s Studio home is the repository of some the most seminal and important artworks in the history of Puerto Rico.  His economic sustenance is based on the sale of his original art or serigraphs from his studio. The present situation has severely curtailed his ability to do that. Additionally, there are health and safety concerns which have emerged due to infrastructure issues in his studio home.

Consequently, we, Palenque Connections in collaboration with Fernando Silva of  Instituto de Ciencias para la Conservacion de Puerto Rico(INCICO) have reached out to Ramos & Associates of Corozal, Puerto Rico to assesses the energy needs of el Estudio de Arte Samuel Lind, and develop a Solar energy platform to provide an environmentally responsible and sustainable source of energy for Samuel Lind. The entire cost of this project will be approximately $15,000.  Therefore, we are creating a GoFundMe Page in order to hep to defray this expense. Samuel Lind is also collaborating with Fernando Silva of INCICO, in order to explore other revenue streams to pay for this project.