Hip Hop Museum Names Indo-Caribbean Artist as it's Founding Creative Director

Written by Alicia Ali  

​As we move into spring, we celebrate voices shaping our communities and creative landscapes. In this edition, we are honored to feature Indira A. Abiskaroon Valbuena, whose work as a curator and advocate lifts Indo-Caribbean and Asian diaspora artists into spaces they have long deserved. Originally intended for Women’s Month, her insights resonate far beyond, offering reflection, guidance, and inspiration for anyone navigating art, identity, and community.

Indira is the Creative Director and Director of Curatorial Affairs of the Hip Hop Museum which is scheduled to open later this year as a permanent home to Hip Hop culture. Indira is a lifelong New Yorker who grew up in Jamaica, Queens.  Her father's family is from Egypt and her mother is from Hampton Court on the Essequibo Coast in Guyana.  Indira holds an MA in the History of Art and Archaeology from New York University, and a BA in Art History and Classics from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College. 
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“No one I grew up around called themselves artists, but there was art in so many of the routines and rituals I witnessed.”- Indira A. Abiskaroon Valbuena.

Photo courtesy of Indira A. Abiskaroon Valbuena

Through her words, we see the artistry embedded in everyday life, the importance of representation, and the power of creating spaces where stories can be told fully and unapologetically.

Roots & Identity
1) How has growing up in Queens’ Indo-Caribbean neighborhoods shaped your perspective on art and storytelling?

“I have to thank you, because until you asked me this question, I didn’t realize how much childhood exposure to gyaffing informed how I think about narrative. So many of my earliest memories take place in family backyards and mandir basements, where people were eating, laughing, and swapping stories. In hindsight, I was soaking up oral histories, a tradition that is certainly cross-cultural, but is so central to my experience of being in the Indo-Guyanese diaspora.

It’s also interesting to consider how those spaces shaped my relationship to art. No one I grew up around called themselves artists, but there was art in so many of the routines and rituals I witnessed. How can I not think of my aunt perfectly pleating a sari when I encounter work by Suchitra Mattai? Would Kandinsky appreciate a perfectly round roti? It sounds cliché, and I’m okay with that, because it is worth acknowledging that there is something meaningful in the casual artistry present in all aspects of the Indo-Caribbean experience, from the mundane to the divine.”

Career & Community Impact
2) What drew you to highlight artists from Indo-Caribbean and Asian diaspora communities?

“To start, I have to acknowledge the decades of important work that have gone into creating space to study art of the Caribbean and Asian diasporas. Everything I am able to do is because so many before me worked both to pull us from the margins and to shift what the ‘art world’ considers to be its center.
The gaps are still very real. I didn’t study the art I currently specialize in when I was in school. When I encountered conversations about ‘Asian’ art, it was largely East Asian in focus, on occasion including South and Southeast Asian perspectives. In conversations about Caribbean art, exceedingly few voices were Indo-Caribbean. The more specific you get, encounters are fewer and farther between. It’s a frustrating reality, given that there’s ongoing discussion among artists and curators about moving beyond representation. How do you have that conversation with communities who have never meaningfully felt represented?”

3) Who are some rising Indo-Caribbean artists or curators our community should know about, and why?

“I am confident there are more of us around than I have had the privilege to meet just yet. For the moment, I’ll take the opportunity to acknowledge those curators whose foundational work has made this conversation possible.
I must always thank Grace Aneiza Ali for all she continues to do to champion Guyanese voices. All I know about contemporary Guyanese art builds from her scholarship and curation. I must also acknowledge Andil Gosine, whose show ‘everything slackens in a wreck’ honored the power and tenderness of the Asian Caribbean diaspora with breadth and depth.”

Mentorship & Involvement
​4) What are practical ways for Indo-Caribbean residents to engage with NYC’s arts scene today?

“The first bit of advice I received when I asked this question myself was to start following people on Instagram. Galleries and museums, people who make art, people who write about art. You’ll get a sense of what you want to see, and what you aren’t immediately drawn to. Both are important. However you respond to something, start asking yourself why. When a museum or gallery program resonates with you, sign up for their newsletters, and attend their events. When an artist you like holds open studios, go talk to them. The more you see and the more of a community you build, the richer your experience will be. If you know where to look, the art world can be accessible, and a lot of fun to explore.”

Vision & Advice
5) What untold stories or emerging trends in Indo-Caribbean contemporary art excite you the most?

“The narratives I keep returning to are ones that recur in Indo-Caribbean art, but haven’t comprehensively been addressed within the broader contemporary landscape. Migration, indentureship, and the notion of being twice-removed across oceans, are such visceral shared histories that warrant revisiting from different perspectives.
That said, it’s always exciting when an artist has the space to explore and experiment beyond identity, of course, and as a curator it’s important to me to create that space where I can. Indo-Caribbean art can, and should, look as varied and uncategorizable as any other.”

​6) What advice would you give aspiring Indo-Caribbean creatives navigating galleries, museums, or auctions?

“I’ll keep it short and sweet: do not flatten yourself to fit anyone’s expectations of you.”

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Learn more about the upcoming Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. You can also follow Indira on Instagram. 

Closing Poetic Note:
​From the laughter in backyards to the quiet devotion in mandir basements, our stories carry with them layers of history, creativity, and resilience. In speaking them aloud, we honor not just where we come from, but the spaces we are building full, unapologetic, and alive.
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Written by Alicia Ali – Read more on my Substack