Special Announcement: COVID-19 Safety Guidelines

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COVID-19 Precautionary Measures adopted at Loisaida

Wear a face covering when visiting Loisaida, Inc. Center. If you do not have a face covering, one will be provided to our guests.

COVID-19 Face Coverings: Frequently Asked Questions.

Dear guests,

Please email info@loisaida.org to schedule a visit to our center. Note that visiting hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00AM to 5:00PM (EST).

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we ask that you review the following “If/Then” guidelines to ensure the safety of our staff and other visitors. The Loisaida, Inc. Center space, activity rooms, courtyards, gallery, project space and special exhibitions are open to individuals and by appointment for groups larger than 5 persons. Our regular business hours for guests are Monday to Friday, from 11:00AM to 5:00PM. We encourage large groups to make advanced reservations by emailing info@loisaida.org. In-person program/site access is subject to change, in accordance with city and state health authorities and protocols.

We ask all individuals entering our space to comply with the Covid-19 Precautionary Measures. Please review these in advance of your visit.

Thank you for your cooperation, and we look forward to welcoming you back at Loisaida Center.

Alejandro E. Torres
Executive Director
Loisaida Inc. Arts & Culture Center

5th Annual Loisaida Festival TheaterLab 2018

by . Posted on
21 May

Co-produced by MEZCOLANZA NYC & Loisaida Inc.

Starting at 12:00 pm on La Plaza Cultural Community Garden

[Read Press Release here!]

The Loisaida Festival’s Theater Lab, a production of Loisaida Inc. with Mezcolanza NYC, returning for the third year to the Plaza Cultural on the SW corner of 9th Street & Avenue C in the East Village as part of the annual Loisaida Festival on Sunday, May 27th. Among the highlights of the program is the New York premiere of ¡Ay María!, a play that explores the post-Maria reality for an isolated group of neighbors in Puerto Rico that must come together after the storm.

The play was initially written to provide catharsis to performer and audience alike following the devastation of Hurricane Maria. In turn, members of Mezcolanza NYC will be among those discussing the role of contemporary theater and performance in post-Maria Puerto Rico as part of a panel discussion organized by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, which will take place days before the festival, on Thursday, May 24th at 6pm.

Loisaida Inc. remains committed to the voices of Puerto Rican playwrights and performers in wake of Hurricane Maria. Following a special one-night only performance of Pateco, el sepulturero by acclaimed Puerto Rican actor Teofilo Torres this past December, the Loisaida Center will again host another timely theatrical work that addresses the aftermath of Hurricane Maria with humor, improvisation, satire, and introspection.

This creative window into the island’s trauma and the resilience of local communities is also an extension of the theme of the annual Loisaida Festival: “Bridging Resurgence: From Sandy to Maria.”

Schedule:

12:00 pm. Fernandito Ferrer / DJ /

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the artist: Fernandito Ferrer is a soulful singer-songwriter of nueva trova and folk fusion from Sabana Grande, PR. This year at Loisaida’s TheaterLab he will be spinning an eclectic mix of reggae, pop and soul to jump start the afternoon. Fernandito is a long time Loisaida contributor and once again we have been fortunate to have him as  TheaterLab’s  stage manager. His services as a stage manager are very underrated as he’s experience spans over 20 years in the industry.

12:25 pm. Julián Garnik / Performance / 2018 Loisaida Theater Lab Emcee

Title: A mis Amigos de la Locura

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the artist: Julián Garnik is an actor and director from Puerto Rico based in New York City. His theatre credits include Jacob in Morning at the Bridge Theatre in Manhattan and El actor tiene permisos part of the III Festival del Monólogo Latinoamericano in Cienfuegos, Cuba. As a director, his short films La Secadora and Tessellation have been screened in several festivals around the world, such as the Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival and the Durham Regional International Film Festival.

12:35 pm. Anthony Rosado / Performance /

Title: Hatuey’s Dream

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece:  For the sake of revealing true stories, archiving indigenous & contemporary Caribbean practices, and sharing methods of ancestral commemoration, I will facilitate interviews. As part of the Native Caribbean Heritage Preservation Project, the interviews function to provide future generations with the inherent understanding of where they come from, so they may know who to become. Interviews with historians, contemporary practitioners, and other descendants of Caribbean peoples will be recorded in effort to (1) act as a digital archive with printed transcriptions and (2) portions of each interview will be presented in a solo performance where I embody each interviewee. This form of oratory storytelling descends from Native Caribbean communicative modes of information sharing and is glorified in Hatuey’s Dream.

12:50 pm. Calle Joroba / Clown Theatre /

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the artist: : Calle Joroba es un colectivo de clown teatral, teatro físico, circo y títeres creado por el mimo, teatrero y maestro Luis Oliva en el año 2014. La misión del colectivo es poder exponer a través de estas técnicas temas universales como lo son la creación, la escasez del agua, la contaminación del aire, entre más. Su repertorio de piezas incluyen “Am i Ea” (2015), la primera pieza que estrenó el colectivo en el Circo Fest En el 2015 y “Wata” (2016) también presentada en el Circo Fest, que luego estuvo de gira por diferentes escuelas en Puerto Rico. .

1:15 pm. Casa Cruz de la Luna / Theater /

Title: The Marquis de Sade is Afraid of the Sea (second movement)

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece: A re-visitation of the 1918 legendary earthquake in the South West of Puerto Rico; bodies resurrected from the flood; agitation of the masses, and the peaceful violence of quotidian life meet in the staging of this text by Aravind Enrique Adyanthaya. Featuring: Alejandra Morales, Christopher Cancel, Laura Mercedes and Caridad del Valle.

1:35 pm. Teatro 220 / Improv Troupe /

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the artists: Grupo de jóvenes actores latinos que por medio de la improvisación teatral, llevamos comedia, música y entretenimiento para toda la familia. Nuestro fin es llevar alegría, risas e impactar a su audiencia con un mensaje refrescante y positivo. El grupo está compuesto por: Andrés López-Alicea, Gilberto Gabriel, Zuleinette Ralat y Venuz Delmar. Teatro 220, significa que somos ese conducto de 22O voltios de locura por el cual transmitimos alegría y carcajadas a nuestro público.

02:00 pm Mezcolanza NYC Performances 

1. Kairiana Núñez / Performance / 15 min

Title: Chiquita

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece: In Chiquitita, Ms. Miller Parachute Woman is a character that moves between ridiculous and reality. Between the joke and the speeches that have us cornered in the dependency.
She is a right-wing military officer. She is a recalcitrant Republican. She repeats neoliberal spiels as if there were critical ideas she owns. The fact is that many military were part of the so-called “Reconstruction” of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. They took over the streets along with the local police. The military returned, as they always return.

En Chiquitita, la Sra. Miller Parachute Woman es un personaje que se mueve entre el ridículo y la realidad. Entre el chiste y los discursos que nos tienen acorralados en la dependencia. Ella es una oficial del ejército de derecha. Ella es una republicana recalcitrante. Ella repite el discurso neoliberal como si tuviera ideas críticas que le pertenecen. El hecho es que muchos militares fueron parte de la llamada “Reconstrucción” de Puerto Rico después del huracán María. Tomaron las calles junto con la policía local. Los militares regresaron, como siempre regresan.

About the artist: Actress taurine and Puerto Rican. Graduated from the Drama Department of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, (2009). She began his career in 1996 with Pedro Santaliz, and later became a founding member of the theater group in the streets Jóvenes del 98 under the direction of Maritza Pérez Otero. Later she continued his training with Puerto Rican teachers and artists Rosa Luisa Márquez, Teresa Hernández, Viveca Vázquez, among others. In Argentina, she trained at Sportivo Teatral with Mirta Bogdasarian and Ricardo Bartís (2011-2013, Buenos Aires), and was part of the Quinto Piso Theater Companies, directed by Daniel Godoy, and El Rizoma Collective (2011-2016, Buenos Aires) . In 2017 she returns to Puerto Rico, where despite the imbalance, she bets on continuing to grow artistically, professionally and ideologically.

2. Karen Langevin / Performance / 15 min

Title: Fortune

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece: An interactive whimsical game of chance that uses improvisational movement to foretell. Fortune winks at the futility of our desire to know the future through the unavoidable presence of the body.

Fortuna, Un juego de azar interactivo que usa la improvisación de movimiento como herramienta para predecir. FORTUNA es un guiño a nuestro deseo banal de conocer el futuro, usando la inevitable presencia del cuerpo.
​diseño camisa: ​Zaida Goveo Balmaseda.

3. Luna y Vecky / Musical Performance / 30 min

Title: Luna y Vecky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece:  After having expanded their audience to more than 15 people, Luna and Vecky decide to make a little concert in ​the Loisaida Theater Lab​. Luna and Vecky studied music at Berkley and fuse their music with different musical genres and performance. They use their music to express their darker feelings. They have been depressed for more than 10 years.

Luego de haber expandido su público a más de 15 personas, Luna y Vecky deciden hacer un conciertito en el Loisaida Theater Lab dentro de la Plataforma Mezcolanza​. Luna y Vecky estudiaron música en Berkley y fusionan su música con distintos géneros musicales y performance. Usan su música para expresar sus sentimientos más oscuros. Llevan en depresión más de 10 años.

03:30 pm ¡Ay María!

4. ¡Ay María! / Short Play / 30 min

 

About the piece:   Some neighbors who did not know each other before hurricane Maria, have joined after the catastrophe, to collect debris, share food and rely on their needs. These neighbors are the actors and actresses. Some of the people / characters represented in the piece are taken from the Puerto Rican reality, people / characters that we find in our neighborhoods, urbanizations or towns. We also parody public figures and politicians who through the media have been part of the hurricane experience.

Cast: Mickey Negrón, Mariana Carbonell, José Eugenio Hernández, José Luis Guitierrez, Marisa Gómez
directed by​: Maritza Pérez Otero​

Unos vecinos que no se conocían antes del huracán se unen después de la catástrofe, para recoger escombros, compartir la comida y apoyarse en sus necesidades. Estos vecinos son los actores y actrices. Algunos de las personas/personajes representados en la pieza son sacados de la realidad puertorriqueña, personas/personajes que encontramos en nuestros barrios, urbanizaciones o pueblos. También parodiamos las figuras públicas y los políticos que a través de los medios han sido parte de la experiencia huracanada.

​Elenco: Mickey Negrón, Mariana Carbonell, José Eugenio Hernández, José Luis Guitierrez, Marisa Gómez
Dirección: Martiza Pérez Otero.

5. Mickey Negrón / Performance / 15 min.

Title: Carpeta

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece: A look at the process of persecution that the Puerto Rico Nationalist Party experienced in the past and the current crisis.

​U​na mirada al el proceso de persecución que vivió​ el movimiento nacionalista de PR en el pasado y la ​resistencia actual.

6. Paulina Pagán / Performance / 15 min.

Title: Bestias de paraíso 2 – El fuego y la jicotea*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the piece: In honor of my Caribbean grandmothers, especially Levina Wiltshire (1938-2014) In this piece my body becomes a river, a vessel, a bridge between my ancestors, our island ecology, Puerto Rican bomba, its violent history and the joy of dancing. *The jicotea (Trachemys stejnegeri stejnegeri) is the only native Puerto Rican freshwater turtle. The bomba song “El fuego y la jicotea,” composed by Christian Tonos, ignited this creative process.

A mis abuelas caribeñas, en especial a Levina Wiltshire (1938-2014) En esta pieza mi cuerpo funge de río, de nave, de puente entre mis muertas, la ecología isleña, la bomba puertorriqueña, su sangrienta historia y el placer de bailar. *La jicotea (Trachemys stejnegeri stejnegeri) es la única tortuga nativa de agua dulce de Puerto Rico. La canción de bomba “El fuego y la jicotea,” compuesta por Christian Tonos, fue uno de los detonantes de este proceso creativo.

6. Eduardo Alegría and Desmar Guevara / Musical Performance / 30 min.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the artist: Puerto Rican musician and singer-songwriter, developed in theater and experimental dance, improvisation, democracy and politicization of the body. This amalgam of disciplines informs his work. Part of training as an actor he did with the director Maritza Pérez Otero in the political theater. He is an observer of the country and of society.On this occasion he will sing accompanied by Desmar Guevara on the piano.

Músico y cantautor puertorriqueño, desarrollado en el teatro y en la danza experimental, la improvisación, la democracia y politización del cuerpo. Esta amalgama de disciplinas informa su trabajo. Parte de formación como actor lo hizo junto a la directora Maritza Pérez Otero en el teatro político. Se nombra a sí mismo como: un observador del país y de la sociedad.​ En esta ocasión cantará acompañado por Desmar Guevara en el piano.

Mezcolanza NYC

About TheaterLab co-producers:

MEZCOLANZA NYC 2018 – 13th Edition

Mezcolanza is a cultural platform born in 2013 in the city of Buenos Aires produced by Helen Ceballos. It gathers short pieces of artists and multi-disciplinary collectives in order to maintain a live and open stage for the processes and creations of emerging artists in different cities around the world. We aim to erase distances and expose pieces of author, which account for the social reality that is lived in our changing environments. To date, Mezcolanza has hosted over 250 artists among the cities of Buenos Aires, New York and San Juan de Puerto Rico. On this occasion, Mezcolanza visits the city of New York for the third time and celebrates its twelfth edition. We have convened 14 multidisciplinary artists. These artists work in theater, performance, movement, music, improvisation, construction, musical composition, costume making, sculptures, sound and video art. In this edition of the Festival Loisaida and within the framework of the Theater Lab. Mezcolanza presents the urban interventions of 14 outstanding artists from the local and international scene of Puerto Rico, Latin America and the United States, interlacing the scenic discourses of these creative artists with their status as permanent immigrants.

04:35 pm Community Pageant

Loisaida Community / Short Play / 20 min

Photo by: Ryan John Lee

 

About the piece:   The pageant is a large scale outdoor performance, using giant puppets, painted flats, masks, costumes, music and dance performed by and for the community to tell the their own story.

★#LoisaidaFest★@LoisaidaFest★

The 31st Loisaida Festival

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21 May

The 2018 Loisaida Festival

Sunday, May 27th 2018

11:00am – 5:00pm

Avenue C Corridor / Loisaida Avenue / Alphabet City.

The Loisaida Festival is the largest ethnic community pride festival in the Lower East Side. On the Sunday before Memorial Day, over 29,000 converged on Avenue C— Loisaida Avenue to participate in last years amazing street fair event. More locals, citywide, regional and global visitors pack the Avenue every year. The Loisaida Festival offers diverse manifestations of the Puerto Rican and Latino cultures expressed through music, dance, live theatre performances, cuisine, and the arts and crafts of the many artisans that are our prime vendors. Besides delivering top-notch live musical entertainment that features well-known names, the event is also a venue for local artists and emerging talent. It also serves as an important vehicle to disseminate educational, wellness and community services information to its visitors.

The Loisaida Festival, along with the colorful and expressive Artist/ Community Parade that precedes and kicks-off the day-long event, have become the annual signature Loisaida, Inc. production that brings together all cultures to celebrate the inclusive spirit of the LES. Funds raised go directly to our non-profit for programming and community services that are based out of our new Loisaida Community Center on 9th Street and Avenue C, where we now enjoy a long-term lease [50 years] for our 10,000 square foot facility. Our corporate, public and individual supporters that contribute generously to the event appreciate that the Sunday, May 27th Festival is a true culmination of a year-long community curated program of workshops, residencies, intergenerational activities and partnerships that are the foundation of, and create the energy and impetus behind the Festival.

Your support guarantees innovative cultural and community development programs in media and technology, healthy living, as well as our culinary arts component in development of our upcoming teaching commercial kitchen, plus much more, it keeps our community thriving!

From contract to cleanup, the Loisaida team aims to meet sponsor expectations at every level providing an excellent opportunity to engage thousands of festival visitors on the day, and display branding Logo throughout social media, and beyond, for many preceding and subsequent months.

Taller de Soles (Sol Lace Workshop)

by . Posted on
12 Apr

Sol Lace Workshop /// Taller de Soles
with: Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda

Description
Learn how to make beautiful and intricate lace pieces through a simple and meditative
technique with Puerto Rican fiber artist, Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda, who will
introduce us to the technique as it is worked in her native country of Puerto Rico.
Understanding the essence of the technique gives us a vocabulary that we can apply in
both traditional and experimental/contemporary contexts.

What are Soles?
Sol lace is a type of needle lace usually worked in pieces or appliqués. The technique
consists of drawing a net of thread and then weaving and knotting radially to form
patterns. It has its origins in Spain and arrived to the Americas in the 16th century,
where it continued to develop into variations known as Ñandutí, Soles de Maracaibo,
Renda, and simply Soles. Sol Lace is most often used to decorate heirloom clothing,
baby blankets and home linens, but also assembled to create beautiful lace fabrics and
accessories.

Workshop – “Immersive Introduction to Sol Lace” – 6 hrs
Join us for an immersive workshop, where you will learn about the origins of the
technique and see traditional and contemporary examples. Zaida Adriana will share the
basic knowledge to make Soles of different sizes, shapes, and decorative patterns. You
will leave with two completed Soles, and the materials to keep creating and
experimenting.

Details
Duration total: 6 hours (2 days)
Languages: English and Spanish
Level: No previous knowledge required
Number of participants: min. 5, max. 8
Price: $80 (includes materials fee)
Materials included in KIT: Sol cushion, Sol pattern, needle, thread, and instruction
booklet
Dates: Monday, April 23rd from 6-9pm / Tuesday, April 24th 6-9pm

About Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda
Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda is a fiber artist whose work serves as a hands-on
manifesto of the symbiotic relationship we can have with our surroundings. She makes
slowly and mindfully, using local/organic fibers, recycled or found materials, and natural
dyes. These materials are transformed through traditional craft techniques she
respectfully re-contextualizes. Her practice weaves together fiber-art, soft sculpture,
material rescue, and contemplative performance.

Zaida Adriana advocates the slow, ethical and hand-made through talks and workshops
at places like Duduá, Manufacture NY, Slow Fashion Spain/Ethical Fashion Academy,
Eileen Fisher, Bloomingdales, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She serves as the
Country Coordinator of the Fashion Revolution movement in Puerto Rico.

As recipient of the Lexus Grant for Artists, she is currently exhibiting a large installation
inspired by Sol lace at the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico, and is an Artist in Residence
at Beta-Local’s La Práctica. During the month of April, she is visiting NY and taking part
in the Textile Arts Center’s Work In Progress Residency.

CHARAS IS ALIVE ON SPACESHIP EARTH

by . Posted on
12 Apr

CHARAS IS ALIVE ON SPACESHIP EARTH

A project by: Matthew Mottel in collaboration with Loisaida Inc., La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez and DIAP (Digital Intermedia MFA program at City College)

Programming from May 5 through May 12, 2018 from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm 

Exhibition Open by Appointment from Wednesday, May 30th onward. Contact us to schedule a visit.

The history of dome building on the LES goes back to when CHARAS built domes in collaboration with Buckminster Fuller in 1972/73. Syeus Mottel documented this effort in his photo-journalism book CHARAS THE IMPROBABLE DOME BUILDERS , first published in 1974 and now re published in 2017 by Song Cave Press & Pioneer Works.

Through a collaborative project between Loisaida Inc., La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez and DIAP (Digital Intermedia MFA program at City College), artist and researcher Matthew Mottel (Syeus Mottel’s son) will build 2 geodesic domes (one at La Plaza and the other at the Loisaida Inc. Center’ courtyard) as an interactive art installation. In interviewing Carlos “Chino” Garcia as part of his research, Matthew was told that the domes CHARAS built functioned as both recreational activity spaces and as experimental examples of how to build disaster relief housing in non urban areas. The same functions apply now. The dome at La Plaza Cultura, will be seen from the street, with high visibility. This will bring people to the other dome in the courtyard and exhibition happening at Loisaida Center, which will feature a more detailed documentation of the original events of 1972-73.

This work highlights the achievements of CHARAS and hopefully expands the pressure on the NYC mayoral office to follow through on their promise to re-acquire El Bohio for the Loisaida community.

The week of the exhibition opening, many public performances, talks and workshops will transpire in both the Loisaida Center dome, and at La Plaza Cultural. These events will be influenced by the type of programming that happened during the 20+ years of events and exhibitions of El Bohio before being pushed out of its iconic and historic location on 9th Street, formerly known as P.S. 64.

As a sneak preview of the thesis exhibition, you can see one of the geodesic domes installed at pioneer works, today!, april 8th during their second sunday’s program!

Resources:

The Improbable Dome Builders

Matthew’s essay on the book.

The video that will be screened during the exhibition opening; CHARAS IS ALIVE ON SPACESHIP EARTH –  Wednesday, May 9 at 6:00 pm

Schedule, Programming & Activities:

  • Saturday, May 5 at 6:00 pm – Archive exhibition of the 1972/73 CHARAS Geodesic Dome opens during Fiestas de Cruz at Loisaida Center.
  • Sunday, May 6 at 2:00 pm – Dome Building Workshop where participants will assist in the building of a 12′ geodesic dome. There will also be a special screening of archival footage from Bucky Fuller. 
  • Wednesday, May 9 at 6:00 pm – Geodesic Domes unveiled with exhibition at Loisaida Center and La Plaza Cultural with performance by poet Edwin Torres.
  • Thursday, May 10 at 12:00 pm – Exhibition hours at Loisaida Center.
  • Friday, May 11 at 6:00 pm – Exhibition hours at Loisaida Center + Oral history project of the Lower East Side  featuring interview with Chino Garcia by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, with documentary screening of Matthew Mottel’s video CHARAS IS ALIVE ON SPACESHIP EARTH at 6:00 pm.
  • Saturday, May 12 at 12:00 pm – Exhibition hours at Loisaida Center + performances in the afternoon thru evening at La plaza Cultural and Loisaida Center Courtyard.

Ecological City

by . Posted on
12 Apr

ECOLOGICAL CITY PROCESSION

SATURDAY MAY 12, 2018 (rain date May 13)

#DANCERS, #MODELS, #ARTISTS, #PERFORMERS, #BODYPAINTERS #PUPPETEERS #ACTIVISTS #PHOTOGRAPHERS #VOLUNTEERS

PLEASE SHARE and invite friends to join and VOLUNTEER FOR #ECOLOGICALCITY – this is not a parade to watch but a transformational experience – become a garden, river and climate solution spirit – help as a marshal- many roles. Experience the ECOLOGICAL URBAN PILGRIMAGE FROM THE GARDENS TO THE RIVER on the LES of NYC – not to be missed!

ECOLOGICAL CITY, a climate action, ecological urban pilgrimage and performance art event – features a spectacular 6 hour procession featuring visual art, giant puppets and costumes with 20 site performances of dance, music, theater and poetry celebrating sustainability solutions throughout the community gardens, neighborhood and East River Park waterfront on the Lower East Side of New York City.

VOLUNTEER: Sign up to wear spectacular costumes – direct puppets – marshal procession

NEEDED: MAKE-UP/BODY PAINTERS, ARTISTS, DANCERS, PERFORMERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

SIGN UP FOR A ROLE – CONTACT:
FB Message: https://www.facebook.com/EarthCelebrations/

EMAIL: mail@earthcelebrations.com

SIGN UP: http://earthcelebrations.com/volunteer-ecological-city-sign/
MORE INFO: http://earthcelebrations.com/ecological-city-project/

FB EVENT SHARE: https://www.facebook.com/events/856985337794345/

Earth Celebrations’ ECOLOGICAL CITY in partnership with Loisaida Center Inc., LUNGS-Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens and over 50 partner organizations and groups including NYC Community Garden District, Green Map, GOLES (Good Old Lower East Side-Housing/Resiliency), LES Ready!, Lower East Side Girls Club, Lower East Side Ecology, East Village Community Coalition, East River Park Coalition, Solar One, Waterfront Alliance, University Settlement, Earth School (PS364), Sixth Street Community Center, Arts Loisaida, MOS Collective, Gaia Institute, East 4th Street Block Association, Times Up, Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, FAB (Fourth Street Arts Block Association), Theatre for the New City, Hunter College-School of Community Organizing and New York University. Numerous groups and residents throughout the neighborhood are invited to join.

This program is made possible with support from Fund for the City of New York, New York Community Trust, Con Edison, Howard Bayne Fund, private foundations, individuals and
 Creative Engagement / Creative Learning, supported by the New York CityDepartment of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council

Textiles Yarn Workshop

by . Posted on
12 Apr

Description
Learn how to recycle fabrics and clothing into a fun material that can be used for
knitting, weaving, crocheting and many other crafts.

Details
Workshop Duration: 1-2 hours
Cost: FREE
Languages: English and Spanish
Level: No previous knowledge required
Dates: April 19th, 2018 at 6:00 pm

For participants to bring:
• Unused fabrics, Old/Stained T-shirts and/or clothing that you are willing to let go of/cut
up and transform

About Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda
Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda is a fiber artist whose work serves as a hands-on
manifesto of the symbiotic relationship we can have with our surroundings. She makes
slowly and mindfully, using local/organic fibers, recycled or found materials, and natural
dyes. These materials are transformed through traditional craft techniques she
respectfully re-contextualizes. Her practice weaves together fiber-art, soft sculpture, material rescue, and
contemplative performance. Zaida Adriana advocates the slow, ethical and hand-made through talks and workshops
at places like Duduá, Manufacture NY, Slow Fashion Spain/Ethical Fashion Academy,
Eileen Fisher, Bloomingdales, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. She serves as the
Country Coordinator of the Fashion Revolution movement in Puerto Rico.

The Native Caribbean Heritage Preservation Project – Exhibition

by . Posted on
23 Mar

2018 Loisaida Artistic Residency Recipient, Anthony Rosado presents:

The Native Caribbean Heritage Preservation Project – Exhibition

Friday, March 23 from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm through Friday March 30, 2018

Exhibition Description:

Ní’Tiñao means “relative; friend; progenitor” in Kalinago, and is eponymous with the Taíno peoples of the Caribbean. Rosado’s work focuses on historical, indigenous Caribbean definitions of identity and the influence of their values, spirituality, horticulture, and language today, as well as our relation to these definitions right here in Loisaida.

Rosado’s exhibition aims to refute euro-colonial claims that the Ní’Tiñao were a divided peoples who went extinct. Via art and storytelling, we exist.

Objective:

In effort to honor Arawak Tainx ancestors of the Caribbean while providing their scions with the legitimacy and empowerment of cultural identity, The Testourmonials Project will research, draft, and present an Arawak Tainx Heritage Day that intends on one day being celebrated annually and internationally.  As Founder and Artistic Director of The Testourmonials Project I will develop a campaign and build a case to support city-wide, national, and international commemoration of the Arawak Tainx Heritage. 

Visitors of my Open Studio Residency will have access to traditional and modern practices cultivated by Arawak Tainx ancestry.  Through partnership with The Loisaida Center, the “Arawak Tainx Heritage Day” will ensure unity and mobility for intersectional needs of Tainx progenies.  Unity will be present during a hands-on workshop, community discussion, performance showing, and exhibition.  The intersectional needs of Tainx descendants will be revealed via interviews with revolutionaries actively preserving the Arawak Tainx culture.  Your participation on this journey, which will continue long after the Residency’s end, is the vital mobility produced from our advocacy against erasure of Arawak Tainx traditions.

The project aims to research, archive, and memorialize the herstory, history, principles, spirituality, practices, and core values of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean.  Following research, the “Tainx Heritage Day – Celebration Model” will be drafted.  This model will be shared with organizations indigenous to the Arawak Tainx peoples via online survey and interviews, as well as the aforementioned workshop and community discussion.  The model will consequently be redrafted considering review by active members of the Arawak Tainx community and their modern day practices.   Once the model is complete, a proposal will be drafted and campaign launched to consider the “Arawak Tainx Heritage Day” an annual city-wide, then state-wide, thereafter country-wide, and finally internationally recognized holiday.  The holiday will be presented during Summer 2018 via promotion during events, workshops, festivals, and more hosted by organizations who supported the holiday’s culmination.

The Testourmonials Project will host an exhibition at Loisaida Inc. Center opening Monday, March 26 – 30, 2018. The exhibition will be relaying information, sources, reflections, visual art, commissioned photography, and an installation to share the research.

About Anthony Rosado:

 

Thank You for Supporting Latinx Innovation in the LES – El Semillero Benefit Recap

by . Posted on
03 Mar

On behalf of the Loisaida team, thank you for attending the El Semillero Benefit event on February 27th. More than 100 of you gathered with us in support of our forthcoming makerspace and hub for ideas and innovation. As one neighborhood––an entire community, we celebrated our distinguished honorees, admired the talented artists whose work graced our auction wall, and shared in the excitement of the opportunities blooming soon at our Semillero/Seedbed.

Your energy and belief in Loisaida’s mission and vision played a huge role in the success of this inaugural celebration. Some of our favorite moments were recognizing our former City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, with our current Councilwoman Carlina Rivera and the incredible Latina and LGBTQ leadership strong in the LES, joining the executive team at Acacia with the vibrant community of Loisaida’s cultural producers, and dancing the night away to the tropical beats of D’Marquesina.

Your support at the artist, seedling, and germinator levels brought in a jumpstart in sustainability for El Semillero. We are especially grateful for the presenting sponsorship from the Arthur J. Gallagher & Company. Every penny goes to keeping our doors open and our programs thriving. All of this generosity will provide stewardship to the media and technology center––audio-visual recording and broadcasting, silk screening, carpentry, CNC milling, and more––available to the community at large.

We look forward to building with you as we bring El Semillero to life for our community! We can’t wait for you to come to The Seedbed and take advantage of all the programs and resources it will offer so we can cultivate our future and our selves.

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On behalf of the Loisaida team, we would like to thank Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for their generous support towards the inaugural El Semillero benefit event.

Noche de Bohemia with Joe Louis

by . Posted on
01 Mar

Joe Louis returns with his experimental bohemia to NYC from PR. Come and enjoy a night full of stories to wait for the end of the world and face it. Come to love and be loved with music and vocal improvisation. Swimming in the “Río Piedras” had never been so far away. (https://soundcloud.com/user-553207317/rio-piedras-vol-1-joe-louis-y-los-bohemios)

Suggested $10 donation.

Joe Louis regresa con su bohemia experimental a la ciudad de Nueva York. Vengan a disfrutar una noche llena de historias para esperar el fin del mundo y afrontarlo. Vengan a amar y ser amados con la música e improvisación vocal. Nadar en el “Río Piedras” nunca había estado tan lejos. ( https://soundcloud.com/user-553207317/rio-piedras-vol-1-joe-louis-y-los-bohemios)

Donación sugerida de $ 10.