Shields / Escudos, 2020.⠀
Protest Shields made from decommissioned school buses in Puerto Rico.⠀
 
Hundreds of schools have closed in Puerto Rico in recent years due to debt crisis austerity programs, Washington neglect and local corruption, natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes), and shifting populations. Over 25 % of public schools on the island have now been shuttered (all pre-Covid). 
 
The metal bus armor that once protected children while in transit to local schools are here repurposed into protest shields to protect those fighting for the future of our children’s education, and for our right to be self-determined, and free. 

This work is inspired by those who continue to rise up in protest against the violence of racism and colonialism today, both in Puerto Rico and throughout the U.S.