Rosa Elena Egipciaco, often referred to as the 'Queen of Mundillo', is a master Mundillo lacemaker and teacher of the Puerto Rican

folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...

. In addition to being part of the long Mundillo tradition of her hometown of

Moca, Puerto Rico Moca () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico, located in the north-western region of the island, north of Añasco; southeast of Aguadilla; east of Aguada; and west of Isabela and San Sebastián. Moca is spread over 12 barrios and Moca ...

, she belongs to the much larger, much longer tradition of Spanish and European bobbin lacemaking. Egipciaco was born into a family tradition of lace-making, as her mother and grandmother were noted makers of lace. She recalls starting to learn mundillo when she was four years old. After graduating from the

University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a public land-grant research university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the Univ ...

, she continued to practice mundillo and co-founded the Cultural Center of Moca. Egipciaco moved to New York in 1986 and began to teach lace-making through a variety of programs ranging from workshops for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union to serving as a master in the

New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell (1905–1996 ...

Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program. Her work has been exhibited at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, the American Museum of Natural History, Casita Maria,

El Museo del Barrio El Museo del Barrio, often known simply as El Museo (the museum), is a museum at 1230 Fifth Avenue in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is located near the northern end of Fifth Avenue's Museum Mile, immediately north of the Museum of the Cit ...

, Marymount College, Brentwood International Ladies Garment Union, the Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña.

Awards

In 2003, Egipciaco was named as one of eleven artists to receive a

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. The fellowships are the country's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. The awardees each received a one-time award of $20,000.

References

Living people People from Moca, Puerto Rico Lace Puerto Rican women artists National Heritage Fellowship winners University of Puerto Rico alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-artist-stub