Lin-Manuel Miranda and Google team up to share Puerto Rican art with the world

Two years after Hurricane Maria devastated large swaths of Puerto Rico, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Google Arts & Culture have teamed up to share some of the island's art with the rest of the world.

They're joining forces to promote a new project allowing anyone around the world to zoom into 48 digitized pieces of art from Puerto Rican artists. The preservation effort is made possible with Google Arts & Culture's "Art Camera" technology, which allows for a close-up, digital examination of paintings.

The artwork for this collection comes from Puerto Rican art institutions, including Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP), Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Museo de Arte de Ponce, and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico. People can also visit the museums in person to view curated exhibits and learn more about the collections on display in the digital project.

"Bringing Puerto Rican art into global focus has been a personal passion of Lin’s for years, but the urgency was heightened post-Hurricane Maria," the team said in a statement. "The project comes at an important time: due to budget cuts and storage limitations, some of the art being digitized is not currently on view, even to Puerto Ricans."  

Google and Miranda have worked together on Puerto Rico relief before, with Google matching $2 million to the Hispanic Federation and Mercy Corps for relief efforts back in 2018, which Miranda encouraged and promoted.

The new project was announced on Nov. 7, with a launch event at Museo de Art de Puerto Rico, attended by Miranda, as well as Puerto Rican politicians, cultural figures, and others.

"We hope people feel inspired to learn more about Puerto Rico's culture," said Simon Delacroix, the U.S. Lead for Google Arts and Culture. "Google Arts & Culture aims to be an innovation partner to the cultural center and democratize access to art, making it accessible to anyone, anywhere."