Photo courtesy of the artist
Amara Abdal Figueroa
Teaching Artist Cohort
,
2026
Amara Abdal Figueroa (1990) is an agroceramist from Borikén, an archipelago in the Caribbean, and Kuwait, two small territories of great ecological value and geological determination occupied by foreign powers. Amara holds bachelor’s degrees in arts and architecture from Rhode Island School of Design. In her formative years, she cofounded a ceramic studio with a downdraft kiln in Medellín, Colombia, called Maati. Her transdisciplinary and multiscalar practice is situated in territory, considering care for water, soil, and all biodiversity; emerging pedagogies; and material resistance. Her work has been recognized by the Center for Craft, the National Association of Latin Arts and Culture, Taller Vivo x Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, Art Matters, and Anonymous Was a Woman x New York Foundation for the Arts, among others. Amara’s recent artist residencies include Starworks Ceramics, Taller Malaquita, San Juan 721, SAVVY Contemporary, MASS MoCA, and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico. In 2017, after 15 years living dispersedly, Amara rematriated to Borikén.
Amara Abdal Figueroa (1990) es una agroalfarera de Borikén (Puerto Rico) y Kuwait. Tiene grados en artes y arquitectura de Rhode Island School of Design. En sus años formativos, fue cofundadora de un taller con horno de llama invertida en Medellín, Colombia llamado Maati. Su práctica transdisciplinaria y multiescalar está situada en el territorio, siempre considerando el cuidado de las aguas, las tierras y toda biodiversidad a través de pedagogías emergentes y resistencia material. Ha sido reconocida por Center for Craft, National Association of Latin Arts and Culture, Taller Vivo x el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, Art Matters y Anonymous Was A Woman x New York Foundation for the Arts. Las residencias más recientes de Amara son Starworks Ceramics, Taller Malaquita, San Juan 721, SAVVY Contemporary, MASS MoCA y el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico.
Selected works
“Archivo Aguanta Tierra (part 1),” 2017–present, archive of clay samples. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“Archivo Aguanta Tierra (part 2),” 2017–present, archive of clay samples. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“A Kiln That Is Also a Resting Sculpture (part 1),” 2025, experimental downdraft cobb kiln constructed during a workshop with co-facilitators María Cano and Kayla Noble, using locally sourced clay from a nearby landslide. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“A Kiln That Is Also a Resting Sculpture (part 2),” 2025. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“A Kiln That Is Also a Resting Sculpture (part 3),” 2025. Photo courtesy of the artist.
“A Kiln That Is Also a Resting Sculpture (part 4),” 2025. Photo courtesy of the artist.
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