CV
Education
2013 Painting and Art History, Peck School of the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2011 Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI
2010 Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Paris, France (summer course)
2004 Escuela Central de Artes Visuales, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Grants/Awards
2025 National Association Against Censorship, Curatorial Workshop, New York, NY
2025 40 Under 40, Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee, WI
2024 Joy Engine Community Challenge Grant, Milwaukee, WI
2023 Gener8tor X Sherman Phoenix Fellowship, Milwaukee, WI
2022 Mildred L. Harpole Milwaukee Artist of the Year, Milwaukee, WI
2020 Established Artists Fellow, Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists, WI
2020 Artist-in-Residence, Casa Candela, Cayey, PR
2018 Artist-in-Residence, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Artist-in-Residence, Cesar Chavez Drive, Milwaukee, WI
2016 Artist-in-Residence, Escuela Central de Artes Visuales, San Juan, PR
2014 Grant recipient, The Artery, Milwaukee, WI
Commissions
2023 Public Art, mural, acrylic on concrete, Connector Building, Milwaukee WI
2023 Public Art, sculpture, glass and clay, Milwaukee Parks Foundation, Milwaukee WI
2022 Public Art, mural, acrylic on wood, Broadscope, Milwaukee WI
2020 Public Art, mural, acrylic on concrete, Milwaukee County Court House Milwaukee, WI
2019 Public Art, mural, acrylic on wood, Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee, WI
2019 Public Art, mural, acrylic on metal, Artist Working in Education, Milwaukee WI
2019 Public Art, mural, acrylic on concrete, Revitalize Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Public Art, acrylic on canvas, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Public Art, mural, digital vinyl print, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Pubic Art, sculpture, plexiglass and iron, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Public Art, mural, digital vinyl print, The Bus Art Project, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Public Art, mural, acrylic on brick, Cesar Chavez Drive, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Public Art, community mural, acrylic on wood, Journey House, Milwaukee, WI
Curatorial
2026 HERE, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2025 Lines We Did Not Draw, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2025 Only The Brave, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2025 Pay It No Mind, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2025 Address Undisclosed, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2025 Al-Nisa, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2025 Notes of Native Daughters, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2023 The Erratic, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2022 AQUÍ/ALLÁ, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2020 Para Las Orishas, Punta Salinas, Toa Baja, PR
2020 Rum Will Wash It All Away, Casa Candela, Cayey, PR
2018 Luces, CAV Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
2017 Sick and Sad Why Don’t We Make Together, Cosecha Creative Space, Milwaukee, WI
2015 Pellicula Musculus, Var Gallery & Studio, Milwaukee, WI
Exhibitions/Screenings
2025 And I Will Tell You Mine, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
2024 Homage, Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2023 Inaugural, Sherman Phoenix x Gener8tor Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2023 AQUÍ/ALLÁ, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2022 Then As Now: Woodland Pattern, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, WI
2022 Nohl Fellows Exhibition, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI
2022 No More Stolen Sisters, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2021 Home, Somos Arte Gallery, Chicago, IL
2021 Hyphenated, Crossman Gallery University of Wisconsin, Whitewater WI
2021 Shapes of Truths Told, Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee WI
2021 This is America, 5 Points Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2021 Collecting Our Voices in the Caribbean & Diaspora, Museums Asso. of the Caribbean, Virtual
2020 Travis’ Room, Studio Neonlumberjack, New Orleans, LA
2020 Para Las Orishas, Punta Salinas, Toa Baja, PR
2020 Rum Will Wash It All Away, Casa Candela, Cayey, PR
2020 From The Heart, Racine Art Museum, Group Show, Racine, WI
2019 2 Productions, Reginald Baylor Studios, Group Show, Milwaukee, WI
2019 LULAC Exhibition, Wisconsin Center, Group Show, Milwaukee WI
2018 V, Var Gallery & Studio, Group Show, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Luces, CAV Gallery, San Juan, PR
2017 31 Emerge, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2017 CultureJam MKE #6 “True Lies”, Redline, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Sick and Sad Why Don’t We Make Together, CCS, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Tropicaleo, CCS, Milwaukee, WI
2017 30x30x30, Var Gallery & Studio, Milwaukee, WI
2016 EnMascarado, CAV Gallery, San Juan, PR
2015 Pfister AIR Finalist Show, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, Brookfield, WI
2015 Pellicula Musculus, Var Gallery & Studio, Milwaukee, WI
2015 30x30x30, Var Gallery & Studio, Milwaukee, WI
2015 iShow, Van Vessem Gallery, Tiverton, RI
2015 MARN: Visual Art, Art Bar Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2014 The Artery, Performance, Milwaukee, WI
2014 Var Gallery & Studio, Milwaukee, WI
2013 40th Annual Juried Art Show, UWM Union Art Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Jurying
2024 30x30x30, Var Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2024 Arts Competition, Wisconsin Association of Bilingual Education, WI
2023 Arts Competition, Wisconsin Association of Bilingual Education, WI
2023 Grilled Cheese Grant, Milwaukee, WI
2023 Featured Member Show, Walkers Point Center for the Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2021 Arte En El Callejón, San Juan, PR
2019 BIPOC Arts Grants, Leaders Igniting Transformation, Milwaukee, WI
Speaking Engagements
2026 Social Justice Summit: Community Healing and Collective Care, Keynote, UW-LaCrosse, WI
2024/25/26 Intersections;Theater, Democracy & Civic Practice, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2023 Expert Series: Panel on Immigrant Contributions, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
2023 SocialX Arts Connection Homecoming, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
2023 Conversation with MKE Creatives, Genre Urban Arts, Milwaukee, WI
2023 Arts Connect, Community of Creative Arts, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
2022 Cultural Consultant Lecturer, Milwaukee Chamber Theater, Milwaukee, WI
2022 Exploring Cultivation!, Latinos Unidos, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI
2022 Cultivation, Lynden Sculpture Garden, River Hills, WI
2022 Proyecto Conbíf, UW-Extension Green County, WI
2021 Artist Now! Lecture Series, Peck School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI
2021 Arts in Action, Latinos Unidos, University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI
2021 Proyecto Conbíf, University of Wisconsin-Extension, Green County, WI
2020 Collecting Our Voices, Museums Associations of the Caribbean
2020 About That: Motherland, The Retreat MKE, Virtual
2020 At the Table: Virtual Dinners + Dialogue, Wonsook Kim College Fine Arts, Normal, IL
2019 Iron Board Café, Quest Program, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
2018 ConversARTE, Escuela Central de Artes Visuales, Santurce, San Juan, PR
2018 Puerto Rico Post-Maria, Latino Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Intersectionality & Community, Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative, Milwaukee, WI
Publications
“The Museum is a Portal.” Institutional Change for Museums: A Practical Guide to Creating Polyvocal Spaces, edited by Marianna Pegno and Kantara Souffrant, Routledge, 2024, pp. 38-41.
“As Puerto Ricans, We Need To Value Ourselves”, Milwaukeenns, https://milwaukeenns.org/2024/10/30/opinion-as-puerto-ricans-we-need-to-value-ourselves/
Boards & Affiliations
Milwaukee Art Museum, Community Advisory Group, Milwaukee, WI
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, Co-Chair of Board of Directors, Milwaukee, WI
Woodland Pattern Book Center, Board of Directors, Milwaukee, WI
Bibliography
Maria Peralta Arellano, “Historic South Side Home Brings New Life To Neighborhood Under New Ownership”, WUWM Milwaukee’s NPR, February 10, 2025
Jessica Rodriguez, “Puerto Rican Artist in Milwaukee Intersects Food, and Art in Interactive Project”, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 21, 2023
John Schneider, “Meet Ck Ledesma”, Mke Lifestyle Magazine, June 13, 2023
Nicholas Wiberg, “Milwaukee Diaspora Artist Gives a Puerto Rico Touch to Public Space”, Media Milwaukee, June 6, 2022
Kantara Souffrant, “Ritual Gatherings for Survival”, The Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund for Individual Artists 2020 Exhibition Catalogue, June 11, 2021
Juan Miguel Martinez, “Artwork All Over Milwaukee; Off the Cuff with Nohl Fellowship Winner Ck Ledesma” Shepherd Express, February 5, 2021
Juan Miguel Martinez, “Cosecha Creative Space a Place Where Art and Idea Flourish” Shepherd Express, May 27, 2020
Zach Brooke, “Where Is the Diversity in Milwaukee’s Creative Industry?” Milwaukee Magazine, December 2, 2019
Allison Dikanovic, “Sculpture of Community Self-portraits Unveiled” Urban Milwaukee, December 25, 2018
MPL Staff, “First artist-in-residence, brings his art, culture and a taste of his Puerto Rican roots to the library” NOW@MPL, October 4th, 2018
Robin DiGiacinto, “Mitchell Street Library Mural Wins Applause” Urban Milwaukee, July 19, 2018
Lindsay Anderson, “A New Mural Is Being Unveiled at the Mitchell Street Library” Milwaukee Magazine, June 13, 2018
Justin Bacon, “Cosecha Creative Space”, HIGHBEAM MAGAZINE, October 16, 2017
Emmy Yates, “Meet Clarke Square’s Resident Artist”, Urban Milwaukee, September 1, 2017
Jenna Wilson, “Ck Ledesma Visited by Jenna Wilson”, The Coastal Post, May 12, 2015