Joel Eduardo Guzmán
"I am passionate about the language of creative arts and discovering its possibilities. I love transforming spaces and engaging communities. I am a believer that culture has the ability to build a better future. Helping and contributing with my energy is satisfying; getting a laugh that lasts a moment is fascinating."
Joel Guzmán is an actor, clown, and culture and arts manager whose mission over the years has been to transform spaces worldwide with the power of the arts. Graduated from Michigan State University with a master's degree in Arts & Cultural Management. He also received an MBA in Marketing from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and obtained certificates in Circus Teaching and Physical Theater in Argentina. These educational studies have come together to inform his 18 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, where he has created and transformed various cultural initiatives. This includes being the founder of Circo Nacional de Puerto Rico, working as the COO of the theater company Y no habia luz, co-founder of Arte y Maña, and most recently, founding Creativity Connect, an organization dedicated to increasing the understanding of mental health through the creative arts.
Additionally, he served as the Director of Artists at a nonprofit in NYC. There, he has worked with over 1,500 artists and created events that have impacted over 2 million New Yorkers and visitors. He has also led various international initiatives, such as a multilingual workshop presented at the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. Joel has had broad experience working in Argentina, France, the United States, and the Caribbean with people of all ages and backgrounds.
Education
- Master of Arts in Arts and Cultural Management at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
- Master of Business Administration in Marketing at Interamericana University San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Bachelor of Arts in Education B.A. at the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey, Puerto Rico
Certifications
- Systems Practice & Social Impact Analysis at New York
- Frameworks and practical tools for measuring the social impact of your company, organization, or initiative and tackling a complex challenge.
- Law and Policy at Michigan State University
- Legal issues pertaining to the creation and operation of non-profit and cultural business entities
- America's SBDC PR / SBA Small Business Administration at Interamericana University
- Entrepreneurial Leadership, business, and financing plan.
- Circus Management & Performing Arts at Circus Sooq Buenos Aires Argentina
- Management of the circus industry, community engagement, and training in the circus arts. Physical theater and acrobatics.
- Cabuia International Theatre School Inc. at Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Use of Creative Arts: Physical Theatre, Jacques Lecoq Method, Clown, Expressive Masks, Neutral Masks, and Commedia dell'Arte for the engagement of communities.
The workshops propose an investigation that establishes the necessary bases for the construction of any environment. Discovering a way and artistic language that allows us to connect life with art, movement with emotion, and collective experience. An introduction to the physical theater, both deep and playful. Furthermore, these workshops are designed for all kinds of audiences and especially to connect with any language.
Transforming spaces and lives through the arts has been part of the life mission. In different parts of the World, I have had the privilege of collaborating and offering my experience to entities, organizations, universities, and communities. The result has been one full of learning, challenges, and opportunities to create a better world.
I bring dynamism and energy to contribute efficiently to your team and, above all, new ideas to innovate for the present and the future. I believe in teamwork, either as a leader or as part of the group, and together, we can be a fundamental part of generating change.
PROJECTS
Co-Founder
Arte y Maña, Inc. is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide communities with artistic tools that promote social well-being, solidarity, leadership, and self-management. The organization's vision is to contribute to social welfare through art and culture.
Through arts and education, the organization carries out activities that promote civility, social well-being, equity, leadership, self-management, and creativity in communities. With its services, participants have tools that allow them to communicate better in their environment, decrease violence and establish safe spaces. Additionally, through art, the organization seeks to contribute to understanding emotions, increasing participants' capacity for empathy and leadership.
COO
The theater company Y no había luz has carried out artistic and educational work from 2005 to the present, contributing to the growth and development of Puerto Rican culture. Over the last 16 years, the company has impacted more than 600,000 spectators. The group has an extensive theatrical repertoire of original pieces and educational workshops, with which it has stood out nationally and internationally.
Creativity Connect is a project whose purpose is the use of the expressive arts for healing, self-discovery, and enhancing our everyday lives. The primary focus is facilitating creative and artistic experiences that promote mental health, social awareness, and community-building.
Creativity & Community
Creativity and Community is a program to bring students from the University of Florida to Puerto Rico to work closely with the Puerto Rican theater company Y No Había Luz and the non-profit organization Arte y Maña. This program aims to discover how creativity can be a healing tool in communities. A dynamic cultural exchange experience was also a vital part of this program. The program is now part of the Department of Arts and Healing courses at the University of Florida and for elementary school teachers at Townson University.
Creativity: Our Universal Language
Multilingual workshop presented at the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
It is a dynamic workshop that explores how to access our creative state and how to use it to impact the world around us. The foundation of creative confidence is explored and how it can be harnessed in our work, lives, and environment. It focuses on creative exercises that blend theater and visual arts practices through improvisation, encouraging participants to explore creativity as a mode of direct communication with others. This workshop has recently been featured at The American Society for Theater Research (ASTR) and Imagining America National Gathering.
Creativity: Our Universal Language
Multilingual workshop presented at the
World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Albert Einstein
In this dynamic workshop, we will explore how to access our creative state, and how to use it to impact the world around us. We will explore the basis of creative confidence and how it can be leveraged in our work, lives, and surroundings. We will focus on creative exercises that merge theatrical and visual arts practices through improvisation, encouraging participants to explore creativity as a mode of direct communication with others. How does someone else’s action, and physical reaction, change the environment of the room? How does it inform the group dynamic? How can we activate our communal creativity to fast-track solutions to our most pressing challenges? And what can a seemingly simple, goofy object—such as a red nose—do to transform an environment and make way for laughter and creative collaboration?
joelguzmanpr@gmail.com
