Milenys Viera Pérez, better known as IYansa, is a Puerto Rican artist and educator whose work reflects her curiosity and adventurous spirit. With a focus on magical realism, she tells stories through painting, drawing, photography, writing, and sound— recognizing that there’s a symbiosis between art forms and that they tend to have a stronger impact when combined. Born on November 1st, 1999, her early years were spent in Canóvanas, where she first sang to the sounds of her grandfather’s guitar, learned to sew with awela, and flipped through her mother’s fashion drawings, but her true commitment to art began in middle school. Thinking college would not be an option, she decided to go the self-taught route and even skipped art class to work on more advanced personal projects. A great portion of her creative influence has come from living in Georgia during her teens, where she had the opportunity to further develop her craft and draw inspiration from the history of the Southern region.

After coming of age, she returned to the Caribbean and has since lived in St. Thomas, VI and Barbados were she began expanding her practice by printing on textiles and carving calabash. Creative Development, a class she has been teaching a virtually since 2022, helps children to develop their art skills and knowledge through studies of artifacts. IYansa is currently based in St. Thomas, VI and Kingston, Jamaica. Her most beloved interests include permaculture, freediving, collecting natural relics, researching music and finding vintage photographs of people wearing traditional textiles and jewelry.