Help us grow and blossom!
Help us grow and blossom!
One Neighborhood...An Entire Community.
Come visit our resident artist at his studio and learn about his creative process.
Open studio hours are: Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 1-5pm
(Subject to artist’s availability, please email zulealejandro@loisaida.org to schedule a visit.)
Learn more about Juan Bautista-Climent here.
Your contribution will support our commitment to the Puerto Rican and Latino Cultures and the preservation of our heritage in New York City.
Made possible through the generous support of AgeWell New York
The Loisaida Center
proudly presents:
Community Parade & Pageant – Open Workshops
Workshops begin: Thursday, May 4th 2017
Open daily from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm (except Mondays)
All workshops held at Loisaida Inc. Center – 710 East 9th Street NY NY 10009
FREE! All ages welcome.
Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Overview:
Loisaida Inc. has commissioned three masters in the arts of street theater to develop and implement a FREE month-long intensive collaborative atelier of parade-making & pageant techniques to kick-off the Loisaida Street Festival on its 30th anniversary. Daniel Polnau, Pablo Varona and Adam Ende (link to bios below) are three veteran puppeteers and distinct street artists with extensive US and international experience coming together in Loisaida to engage our surrounding community in an exploration of what is possible with humble and accessible materials. They will offer their skills and mentorship in diverse formats of inter-active public art aesthetics, messaging and celebration.
Workshop dates and description by theme:
Dates: Thursdays (May 4, 11, 18, and 25) from 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Description: Let’s start a musical street band from scratch! Bring out all of your inner musical joy in a band of wonders and learn how to make your own costume, design your own mask, help build a float, build your own musical instruments (with materials sourced from any local hardware store) and collaboratively come up with a choreography. Open to all artists, specially musicians and dancers.
(Recommended for ages 18 – Adults)
Dates: Tuesdays (May 9, 16, and 23) from 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Description: This workshop we will celebrate local history by creating an ensemble of big head masks– portraits of the important artists, activists and gardeners who shaped the neighborhood, such as Bimbo Rivas, Carmen Pabón, Tato Laviera, Armando Pérez, and Jorge Brandon aka “El Coco que Habla”, among others.
Participants will learn sculpture techniques with clay, cardboard, and other materials, the finer points of “paper mâché”, and painting skills. No prior experience necessary– all participants will discover that they have the innate skills to make beautiful portraits and caricatures. Included in the workshop will be mask movement and performance, so you will not only make a head, but learn how to embody it.
The creations will be part of the 30th Anniversary edition of the Loisaida Festival’s opening Parade and its Theater Lab.
(Recommended for ages 13 – Adults. No unaccompanied minors will be allowed.)
Dates: Wednesdays (May 10, 17 and 24) from 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Description: Open to anyone who wants to make wearable-danceable- carry able art and help create. Join our team of guest artists and local luminaries in a highly collaborative and experimental open studio where we spin straw into gold! All levels of experience- from the curious to fluent!
Families, adults, teens, individuals, organizations welcome. See your dreams come to life when we bring our creations to the street in a spectacular parade that celebrates the spirit of Loisaida past, present and future!
(Recommended for ages 6 – Adults. No unaccompanied minors will be allowed.)
Dates: Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays (May 5,6,7,12,13,14,19,20 and 21) from 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Description: The Loisaida Festival Parade & Pageant counts with workshop space to build anything related to the parade. Any individual or group that would like to use our space, can come in on the Open Community Workshops. If you reach us beforehand, we could also reserve a space in the workshop and help with your designs and craft.
Please note: The parade is on the 28, May 2017, it starts at 10am and finishes at 12pm. We are asking all parade volunteers to be there, at least, two hours before (~8am) the parade starts and to anyone else that is parading with us, at least one hour before (~9am).
(Recommended for ages 6 – Adults. No unaccompanied minors will be allowed.)
Instructor Profile:
Daniel Polnau – Artist, puppeteer, director of Tiny Town artists collective and Strombolli’s Medicine Show. Daniel Polnau has created puppet parades, circuses, and outdoor theatre spectacles for over 30 years. He specializes in creating larger than life puppets out of recycled junk and up-cycled materials making the mundane become extraordinary. At the heart of each highly collaborative project he strives to demystify the creative process, and quicken the innate creative abilities in all, regardless of age, abilities, or arts experience. His projects and residencies have spanned the globe from Moscow, Bali, Alaska and Puerto Rico.
Pablo Varona – Artist, puppeteer and resident of Casa Múcaro in Las Marías, Puerto Rico. Spends most his time living close to the forested mountaintops of Puerto Rico as the artist liaison of Casa Múcaro, Las Marías. He is amazed by the immeasurable value that the reuse, recycling and/or “forgotten” objects do when it comes to the transformation of urban contexts. His interests revolve around making these issues relevant and accessible to the general audience. Lead artist at Honey for the Heart Parade, Athens, OH, 2015 and Art Director of Loisaida Festival Parade 2016.
Adam Ende – Puppeteer, founder and director of Jawbone Puppet Theater; artistic and managing director of the Islewilde performance festival. He has more than 20 years of extensive experience directing puppet shows, parades and festivals around the US and Taiwan, as well as writing shows, building puppets, performing, and leading workshops in puppet making and performance. His particular specialty is making portraits in puppet.
Even though everyone is welcome to participate in all workshops without previous registration we ask that you to please fill out this form.
For any questions please contact: Zuleyka Alejandro (787) 636-4413 or Pablo Varona (787) 412-1220
A celebration is coming:
The Loisaida Festival has been historically celebrated on the Sunday before Memorial Day, this year is on:
2017’s theme is Immigration where we’ll be recognizing and celebrating the Im/migrant experience in the Lower East Side – The Gateway to America, and celebrating the Latin American Immigrant and their contributions to this community, city and country.
Loisaida Inc. Center hosts Silverio Pérez in the presentation and signing of autographs for his new book:
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED. SEE A VIDEO OF THE LIVE BROADCAST BELOW:
About the book:
The broken glass case, or what the hell happened here? Is a hybrid text that takes hold of what memory is and what memory offers, it is autobiographical, and a “history-o-graphic” essay. Narrated using the most respectable seriousness, the most pure emotion and a suggestive taunt, it leaves us a text that invites reflection and calm, but also calls to action and maybe encourages a calculated rebellion. All written in a tragicomic or comedic-serious tone so typical of the picaresque narrative that accompanies the Puerto Ricans from a remote past.
What Silverio does in this intense and moving volume is to look at that long 20th century that began in 1898 and continues in 2016, the American century, in the light of a repeated “promise” unfulfilled.
Exceptional witness of the time he has lived will prepare the reader for a time where “history” and “life” converge in an enviable balance.
It is also a historical and vital responsibility, well fulfilled.
About the author:
Silverio Pérez (born July 18, 1948) is a musician, writer, comedian, entrepreneur and broadcasting media host, born in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He is known for several reasons, among them:
Join us on Thursday March 16th for an artist talk featuring many of our participating artists.
The artists will share about themselves and their artistic practice, as well as the meaning behind the artworks they created for the CitiCien exhibit.
SPEAKING ARTISTS:
Bonafide Rojas
Carlos Jesus Martinez Dominguez
Melissa Montero
Vagaond Alexander Beaumont
Yasmín Hernández
Will Rosado
Juan Sanchez
Manny Vega
Jean Oyola
Shellyne Rodriguez
Other artists in attendance:
Sofia Maldonado
Daniel Alago
Nelson Host Santiago
Leenda Bonilla
Luis Pagan
Jo-El Lopez
Nia Andino
Oliver Rios
Signed in 1917 by President Wilson, The Jones-Shafroth Act granted U.S. citizenship to anyone born in Puerto Rico on or after April 25, 1898, a complex and significant turning point for the people of Puerto Rico.
Following strict visual guidelines of size and a black-and-white only palette, the exhibit’s theme is one of visual consistency and commitment, acting as a metaphor of the unified voice and solidarity of Puerto Ricans during this critical political time. Coinciding with the 100 year anniversary of the signing of the Jones Act, CITICIEN, in an effort to nurture greater solidarity and collaboration, will feature 100 Puerto Rican artists from the island and the diaspora.
Curated by Puerto Rican artist Adrián Viajero Román, DEFEND PUERTO RICO’s CITICIEN traveling exhibition will feature 100 artworks highlighting the historical and present-day impact of the Jones Act.
About DEFEND PUERTO RICO
Defend PR is a multimedia project designed to document and celebrate Puerto Rican creativity, resilience, and resistance. Recognizing the complex and dynamic landscapes that comprise Puerto Rican daily life and struggle, Defend PR seeks to deepen connections between Puerto Ricans on the island and throughout the diaspora, in the hopes of nurturing greater solidarity, collaboration, and kinship.
#CITICIENPR #DEFENDPR
Visit www.defendpr.com
www.facebook.com/Defendpr / instagram.com/defendpr
Cover photo: “Wall of Resistance” by Leenda Bonilla + Luis Pagan
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Loisaida Inc. & Project Ñ are proud to present a special screening of:
The ñ Experience, is an engaging 90-minute presentation that combines a screening of the documentary “being ñ” infused with directors cut-style commentary from the film’s star and co-director Denise Soler Cox, offering viewers a unique perspective on the film and an unforgettable live experience.
In 90 minutes, Denise leads the audience on a powerful journey of cultural self-discovery and personal reflection. The result is a heartfelt, humorous and interactive experience that offers audiences a refreshing perspective on how to talk about culture and the feelings we all share around acceptance.
Tue, March 7, 2017
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
Noche de Filin & Bohemia
Thursday, November 17th at 8:00 pm
Suggested donation of $10
710 East 9th Street New York, NY 10009
The Loisaida Inc. Center will revive the romantic times with the oldies: Anibal Ayala and Alma Adentro will be presenting a classic repertoire from Silvia Rexach to El Topo. The evening will include a special tribute to the romantic music of our Quisqueya brothers and sisters. Presented as part of 2016 BORIMIX Festival.
Lite refreshments will be served.
Sponsored by: AgeWell Health Plans
ARTISTS:
Antonio Tovar, Darío Fresco,
Ed Álvarez, Edwin Torres, Evelin Velásquez, Frank Guiller, Hillie Galarza, Ignacio Soltero, Jonás Hidalgo, Luis Carle, Ray Llanos, Rafael Carabano, Yelaine Rodríguez.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY:
Carlos Rivera
Bronx Latin American Art Biennial’s Curators: Alexis Mendoza & Luis Stephenberg
OVERVIEW
I am one of those peoples that…
The 2016 edition of the Bronx Latin American Art Biennial under the title, “I am one of those people that…” will examine artworks referring to personal aspects of the creation process, what is in the mind of the artists sometimes is not what is reflecting on the work or the personal opinion; the personal philosophy. The curators and organizers of the 5th Bronx Latin American Art Biennial will focus the selection of the artworks more in the way artists think and what are the specifics behind the creating process. We encourage the artists to be very vocal about their work. Also, our intention is to have the opportunity to explore some of today’s local, national and international social issues such as: migration, women’s rights, political conflicts, different types of discrimination, and more important issues that reflect on the autonomy of the opinion. We are not seeking for every artwork to be a portrait or self-portraits, rather to be a self-representation of the artist’s way of thinking.
Sometimes art’s autonomy is proposed not as a genuine theoretical claim but as strategic one, where the suggestion is that only by claiming that art is indemnified by its very nature against moral culture can we prevent the forms of censorship that art is regularly subject to. But this strategic appeal to autonomy may purchase art’s freedom only at the cost of denying art’s power. I believe that a society that supports the arts supports the cultivation of minds that are able to pay attention, to think and notice what’s on artists’ minds become a habitual experience. Only then are there opportunities to reinforce the national culture. That will be the ultimate autonomy. Here we have drawn unlikely under current conditions, opinion, proposing instead a problematization of the same to the extent that we would no longer or with a referential field or with the discursive strategies capable of taking charge of the experience under the dissolutive operations that ideology, while constituting each of the moments of the object, has practiced on the disciplines and techniques that seek to address it.
Oct 19th – Nov 18th
Opening Reception: Oct 28 at 7:30pm
The EXODUS series explores the Puerto Rican experience of migration, past and present. Focused on towns and municipalities that are encountering a rapid decrease in population, causing separation of families, homes to be abandoned, and businesses to be closed down. Today’s crisis of the poor economy, high taxes, drugs and violence, and a decrease in agriculture that was once a thriving industry for Puerto Rico’s economy has contributed to an estimated over 300,000 people leaving the island in the past 10 years, with 144,000 of them leaving in the last 4 years, and 64,000 leaving in 2014 alone.
Adrian blocks some traffic on Broadway to show people what Puerto Rico looks like. (Wood house siding cut out in the shape of Puerto Rico, the black outlines are the shapes of the municipalities with the highest population of Puerto Ricans that have left their homes).
This is a portion of Viajero's installation on display at Loisaida Inc. Center which will become a permanent installation on display at the NYC Facebook office headquarters.
#LOISAIDACenter #exodus #crisisisland #DefendPR