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Preserving Puerto Rican arts
institutions
Published in "El Diario"
- Thursday, October 13th
In a bold move toward self-preservation,
members of the Clemente Soto Velez cultural center have
voted to give power over what happens at the center
to the visual and performing artists and non-profit
groups who reside there. The move resolves a dispute
and changes the bylaws so that the artists and representatives
of non-profit groups elect the board of directors.
The action is part of a larger effort to preserve three
vital Puerto Rican institutions - Clemente Soto Velez
(CSV), the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre and the Julia
De Burgos Cultural Center. All are located in previously
distressed areas of Manhattan that are now in various
stages of gentrification. As the neighborhoods become
trendy and property values go up, the future of these
institutions is threatened.
All three have month-to-month leases
for their city-owned buildings, but are lobbying the
Bloomberg administration for long-term leases as part
of the effort to ensure their future existence. The
groups banded together shortly after CSV named Luis
Cancel, the former New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner,
as its executive director in June.
CSV is located at the foot of the Williamsburg
Bridge on the Lower East Side. Founded in 1993, it serves
as an incubator for visual and performing arts in the
city. The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre is located
in Hell`s Kitchen. Founded in 1967, it is the only Latino
company located in the heart of the city`s theater district.
And the Julia De Burgos Cultural Center is located in
East Harlem and serves as an anchor for the arts there.
The center opened in 1997 as a project of Taller Boricua,
founded in 1969.
By providing these Latino arts organizations
with the long-term leases they seek, the Bloomberg administration
has a unique opportunity to recognize the rich contributions
of Puerto Rican and Latino artists, and to solidify
the future of these vital institutions. |