2021 GIA Conference
Plurality, Power, and Belonging
San Juan | Nov 7 – 10

2021 GIA Conference

Plurality, Power, and Belonging

Register Today!

What to Expect at the 2021 Conference

We are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2021 GIA Annual Conference coming this November, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Given the unprecedented times in which we are living and working, and the importance of prioritizing the health and safety of our hosts, our team, and our members conference participants, we have designed this year’s conference in a hybrid model, allowing for in-person or virtual participation.

All in-person participants – including GIA team, volunteers, hotel guests and staff, and conference attendees – will be required to be fully vaccinated to join any and all in-person track events. Additionally, as required by the Caribe Hilton, all guests staying or attending events at the hotel must be fully vaccinated. While we will require that all participants comply with every safety precaution articulated by the CDC, airlines, and hotels, vaccinations are the greatest defense against infection and transmission.

Further details about acceptable proofs of vaccination and the procedure for presenting proof to the hotel and/or GIA team are forthcoming from our Caribe Hilton Hotel partners.

Additionally, for our collective wellbeing, masks will be required throughout the conference whenever an event, program, or tour is indoors, except when actively eating, as is practiced by all of our host venues. We thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

The COVID-safe measures that will be implemented throughout the conference will include:

  • All participants being fully vaccinated;
  • Masks to be worn whenever indoors, unless actively eating;
  • Observing the hotel’s physical distancing practices (marked with signage throughout the property), and optional utilization of sanitizer and cleaning stations available for guests and conference attendees;
  • Observing zones for eating during plenary meals including: (A) no-touch, (B) physically distant, and (C) outdoor areas; and
  • All receptions and, whenever possible, breakout sessions will be held in outdoor spaces, weather permitting.

Grantmakers in the Arts welcomes you to San Juan! How to condense in a paragraph such an enchanting place like Puerto Rico? La Isla del Encanto – the Island of Enchantment – may be associated with palm trees and beaches, the romantic air of Old San Juan and the flavors of Piñones, and the rhythms of bomba and plena, but the island and its people are much more than that. Its complex colonial history and ever-lasting political state define its status as a US territory, and the ancestors of our legacies – Taíno, African, and European – are an example of the diverse social and cultural narratives that encompass Puerto Rico. Deep questions of identity and belonging, speaking truth to power, and embracing a layered and diasporic community offer us immense insight into the ever-adapting culture of the island.

The devastation left by Hurricanes Irma and María, a wave of earthquakes, and economic and political crises only strengthened solidarity in the face of despair among Puerto Ricans. These years-long struggles flowed into massive protests from Puerto Ricans on the island and in the diaspora. Artists and activists, among the many calling for change, continue to lead the way for imagining different relationships of belonging in new futures with the strength Puerto Ricans’ show on their daily brega.

Puerto Rico may be music, sazón, and joy, but it is most importantly its people and their desire to be seen, respected, and celebrated. Join us November 7-10, in San Juan or virtually, to reunite with the GIA community and shape a future that centers culture and justice.

Sunday, November 7 – Wednesday, November 10
Caribe Hilton
1 Calle San Gerónimo
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
(787) 721-0303

2021 Planning Committee

Colectivo Moriviví, Libre y Peligrosa (2019), Humacao, Puerto Rico. Learn more about Colectivo Moriviví