Carmen Mojica Martínez was born in 1956 in Vega Alta and resides in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. With over 40 years dedicated to photography, she has also been an active promoter of the arts, working as a curator and organizer of visual and social arts projects.
Carmen began her photography studies in New York City under the guidance of Frank Gimpaya at Bronx Community College, where she was initially studying to become a legal secretary. She continued her education through workshops at the Bronx Photography Project Seminar, learning from renowned photographers like Ruth Orkin, Gordon Parks, and others. Her interest in photojournalism led her to further studies with photographers such as Mel Rosenthal and Ricky Flores at Empire State College.
In the late 1970s, Carmen’s work was featured in the yearbook of Bronx Community College and various publications, including CSS News, City Limits, Latin NY Magazine, El Periodico la Prensa, and San Juan Star. After returning to Puerto Rico, she pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Arts at La Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Diseño de San Juan. Since 1992, she has directed the Club de Fotos y Artes Plásticas and has been dedicated to making the work of women artists in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean more visible.
Carmen has organized the exhibition series Mujeres, Distintas Formas, Distintos Medios since 1998, showcasing women artists across the island. In 2003, she began developing the concept for a Women’s Museum in Puerto Rico, intending to recognize the contributions of women to the arts and culture. One notable exhibition she curated was Women to Women, Island to Island in 2015 at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts in St. Croix, dedicated to the museum’s late founder, Candia Atwater.
Carmen’s work has been featured in several group exhibitions, both in Puerto Rico and internationally. Some of these include Mujeres 9 at the Museo del Barrio (1979), La fotografía, A Través del tiempo at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (2001), The Last Book at the National Library of Buenos Aires (2008), and Arte en el medio: 35 años de fotografía en Puerto Rico at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (2011).