Loisaida Inc.

"Papo Cucaracha Vertedero El 3ro in the Realm Of Forms, or the story of how in the Underworld, I was blinded by the light"
2019-10-18 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
The Loisaida Center is proud to announce
2019 Artistic Residency Recipient:
KEVIN EMILIO PÉREZ

Loisaida Center Inc. is pleased to present an “open Studio” style exhibition and resident visual artist Kevin Pérez. Opening on Friday, October 18th, 2019
“Papo Cucaracha Vertedero El 3ro in the Realm Of Forms or the story of how in the Underworld, I was blinded by the light”
Exhibition Opening: Friday, October 18th, 2019 – 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Overview:
Kevin Perez uses multi-disciplinary approach (performance, visual, sound) in the merged tendencies of Art Informel and Neuve Invention style, whose work means to be an exploration of the subconscious, its shadows and enlightenments.
The visual performative language he evokes can sometimes be violent and dissonant, however within the apparent chaos, angst, and irrationality therein lies also a reflection of innocence and at times pure beauty in an effort to come to terms with a sense of dis-location that reimagines a new way forward for the discarded.
The choice of materials demonstrate resourcefulness, as Kevin uses whatever found objects and materials he gets his hands on to create an out of the blue formulation. The objective is to demonstrate that wastes, obsolete components from our trash cans, can enter a creative process as a material and become something else. The desire is not to highlight the object but to use it as a unique component.
An initial member of Loisaida’s Garbagia Project collective, an aspect of Kevin’s practice has involved collaborative, often participatory process involving people as the medium or material of the work. During his 3-month residency at Loisaida Center, Pérez has utilized the studio space to explore his solo practice to make sculptures, paintings, audio and video recordings, and give in to the evolving pursuit of a cohesive cosmology to share as outcome exhibit.
“Papo Cucaracha Vertedero El 3ro in The Realm of Forms (or the story of how the Underworld blinded me by the light)” is an attempt to interpret complex emotions that can live unnoticed in the psyche of a person. Utilizing painting, sculpture, video and sound Papo Cucaracha travels to the underworld in search of the realm of forms to find the true nature of the self. He returns blind but transformed form within with faint interpretations of the creatures (emotions) that inhabit this realm.
During his 3-month residency at Loisaida Center, Pérez has utilized the studio space provided to make sculptures, paintings, audio and video recordings and produced a series of work including performances, video screenings and a final exhibition.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Activist Estates: Lunchtime Lecture
2019-10-15 12:00 - 14:00 | Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, NY, NY, 10010, United States
Lunchtime Lecture with Architect Nandini Bagchee at Cooper Union.
Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida
@ Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues
Tuesday, October 15th, 2019 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM (EDT)
Nandini Bagchee is the designer and curator of the exhibit and author of Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side (Fordham University Press, 2018).

Overview:
Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida is an exhibition curated and installed by the Architect/ Historian Nandini Bagchee in partnership with Loisaida Center Inc. The exhibit visualizes the narratives of a historic space-based activism via maps, models, photographs, pamphlets and posters. The Loisaida Center has been instrumental in bringing visibility to the many histories of the Latinx resistance in New York. This new exhibition illuminates yet another facet of this history by juxtaposing the parallel trajectories of different social movements. The issue-based timelines construct a network of solidarity between individuals and institutions in the Lower East Side.
An examination of participatory practices in New York City reveals the critical relationship between real estate, architecture and activism. In cities across the country, in the 1970’s, the devaluation of property created a vacuum of ownership. Vacant lots, storefronts, schoolhouses, factories and abandoned tenements in New York City became havens for experimental, communal practices. These same urban landscapes, in the present time, face the opposite crisis of inflated costs and high-profit development. Escalating speculation threatens the small gains made by communities in historically marginalized neighborhoods. Amid current debates about urban justice and access to the city, Activist Estates critically re-evaluates the place of counter-institutional practices that shape the landscape of New York City.
About:
Nandini Bagchee is an Associate Professor at the Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY (CUNY) and principal of Bagchee Architects. Her research focuses on activism in architecture and the ways in which ground-up collaborative building practices provide an alternative medium for the creation of public space. Nandini is the author of a recently published book on the history of activist-run spaces in New York City entitled, Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side (Fordham University Press, 2018). Her built-work and writing has been published in the New York Times, Interiors Now, Urban Omnibus and the Journal of Architectural Education. She is the recipient of grants from the Graham Foundation, New York State Council of the Arts and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her research-based design work involves an ongoing engagement with politically active organizations such as the South Bronx Unite, Sites of Conscience, Interference Archive, Cooperation Jackson and the Loisaida Center.

Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by LMCC. LMCC serves, connects and makes space for artists and community.

Activist Estates: Gallery Talk
2019-10-12 15:00 - 17:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Architect Nandini Bagchee in conversation with Sociologist Miranda Martinez at the Loisaida Center.
Gallery Talk: Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida
710 E 9th Street | NY, NY 10009
Saturday, October 12th, 2019 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM (EDT)
Nandini Bagchee is the designer and curator of the exhibit and author of Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side (Fordham University Press, 2018).
Miranda Martinez is the author of Power at the Roots: Community Gardens, Gentrification, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side (Lexington Books, 2010).

Overview:
Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida is an exhibition curated and installed by the Architect/ Historian Nandini Bagchee in partnership with Loisaida Center Inc. The exhibit visualizes the narratives of a historic space-based activism via maps, models, photographs, pamphlets and posters. The Loisaida Center has been instrumental in bringing visibility to the many histories of the Latinx resistance in New York. This new exhibition illuminates yet another facet of this history by juxtaposing the parallel trajectories of different social movements. The issue-based timelines construct a network of solidarity between individuals and institutions in the Lower East Side.
An examination of participatory practices in New York City reveals the critical relationship between real estate, architecture and activism. In cities across the country, in the 1970’s, the devaluation of property created a vacuum of ownership. Vacant lots, storefronts, schoolhouses, factories and abandoned tenements in New York City became havens for experimental, communal practices. These same urban landscapes, in the present time, face the opposite crisis of inflated costs and high-profit development. Escalating speculation threatens the small gains made by communities in historically marginalized neighborhoods. Amid current debates about urban justice and access to the city, Activist Estates critically re-evaluates the place of counter-institutional practices that shape the landscape of New York City.
About:
Nandini Bagchee is an Associate Professor at the Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY (CUNY) and principal of Bagchee Architects. Her research focuses on activism in architecture and the ways in which ground-up collaborative building practices provide an alternative medium for the creation of public space. Nandini is the author of a recently published book on the history of activist-run spaces in New York City entitled, Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side (Fordham University Press, 2018). Her built-work and writing has been published in the New York Times, Interiors Now, Urban Omnibus and the Journal of Architectural Education. She is the recipient of grants from the Graham Foundation, New York State Council of the Arts and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her research-based design work involves an ongoing engagement with politically active organizations such as the South Bronx Unite, Sites of Conscience, Interference Archive, Cooperation Jackson and the Loisaida Center.

Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and administered by LMCC. LMCC serves, connects and makes space for artists and community.

Open Arts LES
2019-10-12 14:00 - 17:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Open Arts LES
Saturday, October 12th, 2019 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
at: Loisaida Inc. – 710 East Ninth Street and Avenue C
Fourth Arts Block (FAB) launches Open Arts LES to introduce the public to the broad range of Lower East Side arts & culture experiences and opportunities. The event is designed to engage NYC residents in exploring arts and culture opportunities in the LES. Participation in Open Arts LES is open to nonprofit and community based organizations, as well as individual artists who wish to offer open studio hours.

Loisaida Center presents:
Activist Estates: Gallery Talk & Exhibition Tour 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
Join Architect Nandini Bagchee in conversation with Sociologist Miranda Martinez at the Loisaida Center.

Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida is an exhibition curated and installed by the Architect/ Historian Nandini Bagchee in partnership with Loisaida Center Inc. The exhibit visualizes the narratives of a historic space-based activism via maps, models, photographs, pamphlets and posters. The Loisaida Center has been instrumental in bringing visibility to the many histories of the Latinx resistance in New York. This new exhibition illuminates yet another facet of this history by juxtaposing the parallel trajectories of different social movements. The issue-based timelines construct a network of solidarity between individuals and institutions in the Lower East Side.
Nandini Bagchee is the designer and curator of the exhibit and author of Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side (Fordham University Press, 2018).
Miranda Martinez is the author of Power at the Roots: Community Gardens, Gentrification, and the Puerto Ricans of the Lower East Side (Lexington Books, 2010).

Artist in Residence Open Studio: 2:00 to 5:00 pm.
During his 3-month residency at Loisaida Center, Kevin Pérez has utilized the studio space provided to make sculptures, paintings, audio and video recordings and produced a series of work including performances, video screenings and a final exhibition.
Kevin Perez uses multi-disciplinary approach (performance, painting, sound) in the merged tendencies of Art Informel and Neuve Invention style, whose work means to be an exploration of the subconscious, its shadows and enlightenments.The visual performative language he evokes can sometimes be violent and dissonant, however within the apparent chaos, angst, and irrationality therein lies also a reflection of innocence and at times pure beauty in an effort to come to terms with a sense of dis-location that reimagines a new way forward for the discarded.
The choice of materials demonstrate resourcefulness, as Kevin uses whatever found objects and materials he gets his hands on to create an out of the blue formulation. The objective is to demonstrate that wastes, obsolete components from our trash cans, can enter a creative process as a material and become something else. The desire is not to highlight the object but to use it as a unique component.
An initial member of Loisaida’s Garbagia Project collective, an aspect of Kevin’s practice has involved collaborative, often participatory process involving people as the medium or material of the work. During his 3-month residency at Loisaida Center, Pérez has utilized the studio space to explore his solo practice to make sculptures, paintings, audio and video recordings, and give in to the evolving pursuit of a cohesive cosmology to share as outcome exhibit.
“Papo Cucaracha Vertedero El 3ro in The Realm of Forms (or the story of how the Underworld blinded me by the light)” is an attempt to interpret complex emotions that can live unnoticed in the psyche of a person. Utilizing painting, sculpture, video and sound Papo Cucaracha travels to the underworld in search of the realm of forms to find the true nature of the self. He returns blind but transformed form within with faint interpretations of the creatures (emotions) that inhabit this realm.
Read more here.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida
2019-10-02 18:00 - 20:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida
Opening Reception
710 E 9th Street | NY, NY 10451
Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (EDT)
Read More

Overview:
Activist Estates: A Radical History of Property in Loisaida is an exploration of buildings and properties in the Lower East Side that are celebrated sites of resistance. This exhibition curated and designed by the Architect Nandini Bagchee in partnership with Loisaida Center visualizes the narratives of a historic space-based activism via drawings, maps, models, photographs, manuals and posters.
An examination of participatory practices in New York City reveals the critical relationship between real estate, architecture and activism. In cities across the country, in the 1970’s, the devaluation of property created a vacuum of ownership. Vacant lots, storefronts, schoolhouses, factories and abandoned tenements in New York City became havens for experimental, communal practices. Amid current debates about urban justice and access to the city, Activist Estates critically re-evaluates the place of counter-institutional practices that shape the landscape of New York City.

The exhibit features the drawings of Nandini Bagchee and the photography of David McReynolds, Ed Hedemann, Marlis Momber and Jade Doskow. It also highlights the work of collectives such as CHARAS, PAD/D, REPOhistory, Paper Tiger TV, ABC NO Rio and the dedicated artists/ organizers that have created posters, banners, buttons, newsletters and films that advocate for social justice, housing, community and the environment within the Lower East Side.
This project is supported by a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and is part of Archtober. The materials for the exhibition are courtesy of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Urban Democracy Lab, War Resisters League, Clemente Soto Velez and Cooper Square MHA.
About:
Nandini Bagchee is an Associate Professor at the Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY (CUNY) and principal of Bagchee Architects. Her research focuses on activism in architecture and the ways in which ground-up collaborative building practices provide an alternative medium for the creation of public space. Nandini is the author of a recently published book on the history of activist-run spaces in New York City entitled, Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side (Fordham University Press, 2018). Her built-work and writing has been published in the New York Times, Interiors Now, Urban Omnibus and the Journal of Architectural Education. She is the recipient of grants from the Graham Foundation, New York State Council of the Arts and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Her research-based design work involves an ongoing engagement with politically active organizations such as the South Bronx Unite, Sites of Conscience, Interference Archive, Cooperation Jackson and the Loisaida Center.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Garbagia Hallucination Station - Summer Program
2019-09-22 14:00 - 18:00 | El Jardin del Paraiso, East 4th to E. 5th Streets, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Garbagia: Hallucination Station
Sunday, September 22, 2019 from 2:00 – 6:00 pm
at: El Jardin del Paraíso Garden, Lower East Side, NY

Garbagia Projects is on its fourth cycle and every year it keeps expanding its reach. This year, Garbagia: Hallucination Station explores re-envisioning of a new world and continues to address topics of climate change, sustainability of our planet and reducing and reusing our waste as a beloved material and resource. Hallucination Station will be this year’s platform to portray this vision of the future and showcase its possibilities. Time is running out… How can we change our destructive ways?
Garbagia Project is Loisaida Center’s annual Summer Program based on a series of free, open community art and puppetry workshops with a focus on creating works with materials while creating a story working on present issues related to ecological topics, community and nature/urban resources, understanding trash as a treasure for the development of a sustainable life and protecting the world.
For the first time, Garbagia’s Upcycled & 2nd Hand Fair and Garbagia’s Art Auction will be presented during Lower East Side Community Festival: LUNGS Harvest Fest.

+ MUSIC including PincLouds and Cookie Tongue! +
+ Sound Art +
+ Independent Performances +
+ Garbagia’s 4th Year Performance and Fashion Show +

This program is funded by the New York City Council’s Cultural Immigrant Initiative, in partnership with the New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, Loisaida United Gardens and El Jardín del Paraíso Community Garden. Cover Art by: Patricio O’Hea

LIFTING H.E.ARTS: THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE AND THE FOUNDATION
2019-09-07 17:30 - 20:30 | H.E.ARTS, 349 E 140th Street, New York, NY, 10451, United States
LIFTING H.E.ARTS: THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE AND THE FOUNDATION
LIVE Artist Talk and Closing Reception
349 E 140th Street | The Bronx, NY 10451
Saturday, September 7, 2019 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)

Join us on Saturday, September 7, for a celebration of art and activism in “Lifting H.E.ARTS: the Present, the Future and the Foundation.”
Commencing with a plenero-led procession from Brook Park to the old Lincoln Detox Center, the event will feature a mural unveiling, an update on our community land trust’s acquisition efforts and a film screening – all focused on one culturally vital building – and at an important moment in time on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Young Lords. With complimentary food and music and intersecting themes of community-led solutions in health, education, the arts, criminal justice, environmental justice and immigration, the event will include:
5:30 pm. RUMBA PROCESSION | BROOK PARK TO OLD LINCOLN DETOX/H.E.ARTS BUILDING AT WILLIS AVENUE PLAYGROUND
At 5:30 pm, Pregones Theater- and Nos Quedamos- organized Stage Garden Rumba at Brook Park (East 141st St and Brook Ave) will lead a plenero-driven procession from Brook Park to the old Lincoln Detox Center/H.E.ARTS building at 345 East 140th Street where an event will already be underway to unveil the mural “We Have a Story to Tell.”
6:00 pm. MURAL UNVEILING | “WE HAVE A STORY TO TELL”
Hear local artist, Virginia Ayress, discuss seeing children being separated from their parents as the inspiration behind her newly completed mural, “We Have a Story to Tell..” The mural, created and painted by Ayress with the Experimental Art Workshop and volunteers from the community, aims to express the experience of immigrant children and their broken dreams.
6:30 pm. H.E.ARTS UPDATE
Hear Mychal Johnson, Member of the Board of Directors of the Mott Haven-Port Morris Community Land Stewards and Co-founder of South Bronx Unite, discuss the status of the local community land trust’s efforts to repair and restore the vacant old Lincoln Detox Center building and house nearly a dozen community-based organizations working in the fields of health (H), education (E) and the arts (ARTs) in a retrofitted space with offices, shared meeting areas, a culinary arts kitchen, classrooms and performance spaces. A full feasibility report has now been completed, documenting a fully baked, economically sustainable plan reflective of nearly five years of broad-based community envisioning sessions and extensive community based organization interviews.
7:00 pm. THE PEOPLE’S DETOX | FILM SCREENING
Hear Walter Bosque, former Young Lord, Licensed Acupuncturist and Co-founder of Lincoln Detox (1970-1978), introduce the film “The People’s Detox” to be screened in the handball court across the street from the building. In November 1970, Lincoln Hospital was taken over through the collective organizing of local heroin addicts, revolutionary health organizations, the Young Lords, members of the Black Panther Party as well as other organizations. Through political education, the clinic examined the role of global politics in the influx of heroin into urban centers as well as the economic incentives of the established protocols for drug treatment. With the introduction of acupuncture as an aid in detoxification, eventually replacing pharmaceutical treatments, it was not only the walls of the hospital that were breached but the very apparatus of addiction and recovery. “The People’s Detox” is a contemplative look at how the history of a revolutionary drug clinic reverberates through to contemporary notions of health and care. The film was directed by Jenna Bliss.

With support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and part of the public events of Pasado Y Presente: Art after the Young Lords 1969-2019 produced by Loisaida Center. This event is in partnership with Pregones Theater, Nos Quedamos, South Bronx Unite, Mott Haven Community Land Stewards, and Taller Experimental de Arte. To set up an appointment to visit the Nathan Cummings Foundation exhibit, contact exhibits@nathancummings.org

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Pasado y Presente: Art After the Young Lords - Exhibition Closing
2019-09-04 18:30 - 20:30 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Pasado y Presente: Art After the Young Lords
LIVE Artist Talk and Closing Reception
Loisaida, Inc. | 710 East 9th Street | New York, NY 10009
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)

The Loisaida Inc. Center in partnership with the Nathan Cummings Foundation, collaborated on: Pasado y Presente: Art After the Young Lords, an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Young Lords Organization in New York that will be on view at the Nathan Cummings Foundation offices through October 25, 2019. More information here.
Join us for a report-back from the Valor Y Cambio Project: a story-telling, community-building, and solidarity economy initiative housed at the Pasado Y Presente: Art after the Young Lords exhibition on view at Loisaida. The report back, from artist and creator, Frances Negrón-Muntaner, will be followed by a dialogue with Dominican York participating artists on decolonial artistic / social practices, New York-Caribbean intra-diasporic ties, fluid understandings of value, mobility, exchange, solidarity processes and trans-national identity and belonging:
Pepe Coronado
Scherezade Garcia
Carlos Jesus Martinez Dominguez
Frances Negrón-Muntaner

To set up an appointment to visit the Nathan Cummings Foundation exhibit, contact exhibits@nathancummings.org

Related Programming:
LIFTING H.E.ARTS: THE PRESENT, THE FUTURE AND THE FOUNDATION
Saturday, September 7, 2019 at Pregones/PRTT | 575 Walton Avenue | The Bronx, NY 10451 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EDT)
This event is in partnership with Pregones Theater, Nos Quedamos, South Bronx Unite, Mott Haven Community Land Stewards, and Taller Experimental de Arte. The event is a celebration of art and activism to close off the public programs of the Pasado Y Presente: Art After the Young Lords exhibition. Commencing with a plenero-led procession from Brook Park to the old Lincoln Detox Center in the South Bronx, the event will feature a mural unveiling, an update on the Mott Haven’s community land trust’s acquisition efforts, and a documentary screening – all focused on one culturally vital building – and at an important moment in time on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Young Lords. With complimentary food and music and intersecting themes of community-led solutions in health, education, the arts, criminal justice, environmental justice and immigration, the event will include:
5:30 pm. RUMBA PROCESSION | BROOK PARK TO OLD LINCOLN DETOX/H.E.ARTS BUILDING AT WILLIS AVENUE PLAYGROUND
6:00 pm. MURAL UNVEILING | “WE HAVE A STORY TO TELL”
6:30 pm. HEALTH, EDUCATION, ARTS (H.E.ARTS) Project UPDATE
7:00 pm. THE PEOPLE’S DETOX | FILM SCREENING

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

MEDIA USED FOR EQUITY JUSTICE & RESPECT (M.U.J.E.R.)
2019-07-20 12:00 - 2019-08-10 16:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Loisaida Inc. Center is pleased to present a 4-week intensive workshop in media literacy and production for young women and their allies at the early stage of their careers, within the launch of our long-awaited El Semillero/The Seedbed. The program is slated to be lead by local filmmaker Eden Martinez. We are offering the program to local individuals who are emergent or pre-emergent artists, media workers, and/or technologists, ages 16 – 24. Participants will learn how to break down media messages, stories from the LES, strategic messaging and script writing, video production, and more.
We are offering $250 stipend for participants who are committed to the full run of the program. Participants are chosen by a committee on a needs-basis as well as on the basis in which participants can demonstrate their level of commitment. Please spread the word about this program, as we are looking for as many potential registrants as possible!
Click here to register!
The program is slated to run every Saturday, beginning July 20 through August 10 (12pm – 4pm) as a minimum number of registrants is met.

The Infinite Flash of Memory: A conversation on Jardín de Pulpos (Octopus’s Garden)
2019-07-15 19:00 - 21:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
The Infinite Flash of Memory: A conversation on Jardín de Pulpos (Octopus’s Garden)
Date: Monday, July 15th, 2019
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY 10009
FREE to the public. Limited seating. RSVP at caborca.tickets@gmail.com

About:
This evening features a discussion about Latin American resistance movements and protest-theatre art originated in the 20th century; about the collaborative creative process, dramaturgy, acting, staging, and translating Jardín de pulpos for the 21st century Anglophone US audience.
“The other time when we did the workshop [with actors], I told them that the public also writes as they are watching. You, [as playwright], write something that you think actors and actresses are acting on. The actors and actresses are acting something that they think the audience will understand and the audience understands something they need, but it is not necessarily what the author says, nor what the actors and actresses say. It is a great disagreement. What happens is that there is a disposition or willingness to believe.”
– from Juegos interiores: an interview with Arístides Vargas.

Presented by Caborca and Loisaida Inc., in partnership with The Graduate Program in Translation at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, and UArte – Universidad de las Artes in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Javier Antonio Gonzalez is a participant in the Global Connections–IN the LAB program, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the professional not-for-profit American theatre
This symposium is being presented alongside Caborca’s visionary new production of Octopus’s Garden in its first English language version. Translated by Aurora Lauzardo. Directed by Javier Antonio González. Octopus’s Garden runs at Target Margin Theater from July 12-21. For tickets to our performances visit https://octopusgarden.brownpapertickets.com
A man enlists the town madwoman to help him recover his memory at the seashore. He encounters the ghosts of his ancestors emerging from the rupture of authoritarian violence, inviting him to dream again.
Special guests:
Arístides Vargas – playwright, founder, and director of one of the most important groups of Contemporary Latin American Theater: the Malayerba Group.
Charo Francés – founder and director of the Malayerba Actoral Training Laboratory.
Rosa Luisa Márquez – Puerto Rican director, actress and professor, specializing in Ibero-American Theatre.
Aurora Lauzardo – translator, professor and co-chair of the Graduate Program in Translation at the University of Puerto Rico.
Javier Antonio González – playwright and artistic director of Caborca.
Moderator:
Rojo Robles – writer, playwright, filmmaker and instructor of Caribbean and Latinx Literature at Brooklyn College, CUNY.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Los Tres del Tablao - Bohemia Flamenca
2019-07-03 19:00 - 21:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Don’t miss the only performance from ‘Los Tres del Tablao’ in the New York.
Come and enjoy this ‘Bohemia Flamenca’ directly from Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, Debt & Education led by artist-in-residence Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas
2019-06-28 18:30 - 20:30 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
How is the Puerto Rican debt crisis unfolding, and how is it affecting education systems on the island? How can we think about and understand the debt, and what, if anything, can be done about it? Audiences in diaspora on the Lower East Side and in Santurce gather to dialogue with organizers and journalists working on the island. Tembleque will be served. A new piece of music will be debuted by Artist-in-Residence Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas, who produced and curated this event along with Tara Rodriguez-Besosa of El Departamento de la Comida, in collaboration with :Pública.

DETAILS:
Friday, June 28th, 6:30pm

Speakers:

Eva Lourdes Ayala Reyes, Educamos
Luís J. Valentín Ortiz, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
Members of Colectiva Feminista
Dr. Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Columbia University

Food by:

Chef Gabriela Álvarez of Liberation Cuisine
Vero Vero of El Departamento de la Comida

Music by:

Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas, Artist-in-Residence
Presented as part of the Loisaida Inc. Center AIR Program. Lead by resident artist, Jocelyn Bonadio de Freitas.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Trans & Gender Equity in the YLP
2019-06-26 18:30 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Trans & Gender Equity in the YLP
June 26th, 6:30 pm
Loisaida Center, 710 E 9th St & Ave C
Join us for two intersecting conversations on:
6:30pm Revolution within the Revolution: Herstories of the Lords Party Women’s Union
Advocating for the total liberation of women, The Young Lords Women Union produced its own groundbreaking newspaper, La Luchadora, that addressed the specific socio-racial oppressions confronting Afro/Latinx women. Join Young Lords members Iris Morales and Gloria Rodriguez to discuss the platform and activism of the Young Lords Party Women’s Union and the Latinx feminist philosphy: Mujerismo. Moderated by Johanna Fernandez, PhD.
7:45pm Sylvia Rivera: the fusing catalyst
Sylvia Rivera was a Young Lords Party member (LES chapter) who was also an active voice and presence in the LGBTQ activism at the time of the Stonewall Riots. A native of the Bronx, Rivera was an icon of NYC’s transgender community, a member of GAA (Gay Activist Alliance) and GLF (Gay Liberation Front), and founder of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries). Luis Carle, one of our participating artists and friends with Sylvia, has been documenting Borciua LGBTQ activism since the early 1980’s, and will join Anthony Rosado to discuss Rivera’s importance to their work, joined by Loisaida activist Juanita Ramos, co-founder of Comite Homosexual Latinoamericano. Moderated by Charles Rice-Gonzales, writer, long-time Bronx LGBT activist, co-founder of The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!).
This is a public program associated with Pasado Y Presente: Art after the Young Lords exhibition produced by Loisaida Center with the support of the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

The 32nd Annual Loisaida Festival
2019-05-26 11:00 - 17:00 | Avenue C Corridor, 12th - 6th Streets on Avenue C, New York, NY, 10003, United States

2019 Loisaida Basketball Tournament
2019-05-25 08:30 - 18:00 | Dry Dock playground, Avenue D and 10th Street, Manhattan, NY, 10009, United States
Last year a young man by the name of Jesse Brennan, born and raised in our Loisaida community, approached our organization to voice his concerns on what was perceived as a lack of sporting activities along Avenue D as compared to the time when he was growing up. There was a specific concern regarding the slow phasing out of the basketball tournaments that he and his peers used to enjoy growing up in the LES as a teenager. After a year of coordinating, we are proud to announce that Loisaida Inc. has brought back the Loisaida Basketball Tournament to Dry Dock playground on 10th Street and Avenue D.
Organized by Loisaida Inc. with the support of community advocate and leader Tom Brasuell and, with the help of many of you, the first Loisaida Basketball Tournament is now open to boys and girls ages 12 to 16.
The tournament will take place Saturday, May 25, 2019 at Dry Dock playground in the Lower East Side. And, the champions will be recognized on the main stage during the historic Loisaida Festival, celebrated on Sunday, May 26, 2019. A Memorial Day weekend full of activities in downtown Manhattan!
This basketball tournament will become another staple of Loisaida Inc. and the annual Loisaida Festival for years to come. The 2019 Loisaida Basketball Tournament will provide an opportunity for LES youth to gather and compete in a community environment through the game of basketball with an emphasis upon mental and physical development, health, wellness and growth through teamwork.

We are confirmed for the Skills Challenge at Basketball City!
Let’s get our girls and boys registered and the teams filled. Click here!
Save the Date – Saturday, May 18 – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Basketball City – Pier 36 – 299 South Street, New York, NY 10002

Fiestas de Cruz at Loisaida
2019-05-11 17:00 - 20:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Loisaida Inc. Center presents:
Fiestas de Cruz at Loisaida
Saturday, May 11 – 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
A Loisaida Tradition!
Loisaida Inc. and its project The Plenatorium are pleased to host a performance and ritual stemming straight from the faith based history of Puerto Ricans in the Lower East Side. The “Feast of the Holy Cross” roughly translates into “Fiestas de Cruz” and members of the community have kept it alive from generation to generation through oral history. On these days during the month of May, many families, neighbors, friends and strangers would gather to recite a live rosary chant accompanied by Puerto Rican traditional plena sounds.
Come and enjoy the good company and traditional “plena” sounds of Puerto Rico.
Arrive promptly at 5:00 pm to savor a bowl of traditional “Sancocho” or Puerto Rican stew before the ceremonies begin. Courtesy of Pepe Flores.

LOISAIDA SMORGASBORD CABARET & RESTORATION PROJECTS
2019-05-10 18:30 - 22:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
L.A.B. & Loisaida Inc. Center present: A night of visual art and performance not to be missed!
Friday, May 10, 2019
at the Loisaida Center, 710 E 9th St
6:30 pm – Doors Open to mingle and jingle
8:00 pm – Performances begin!
Event ends promptly at 10:00 pm
Plus:
Opening reception of: Rolando’s Winter Flowers & Bimbo Rivas’ post-mortem prints: part of the Loisaida Restoration Projects at El Semillero. Special Edition prints will be on sale!
And, a special world premiere screening of the new Garbagia Projects short by: Audaz Productions! Woohoo!
Loisaida Inc. presents an evening of esoteric clowns, iconoclastic puppetshows, and strange & wonderful performance in the 4th dimension!
Tickets: $10-15
This event will serve as a fundraiser for the upcoming free community workshops and events in the LES community gardens, hosted by LAB, More Gardens, and the Loisaida Center. Throughout the month of May, visiting artists from around the world will be collaborating with local artists, community volunteers and gardeners to create giant puppets, masks, costumes and installations. Final performances will be held in different gardens of the Lower East Side on Friday, May 24, and Saturday May 25, and of course on Sunday May 26 at the Loisaida Festival, with the parade and the theater lab, culminating in the community pageant. All performances will highlight the struggles, and celebrate the rich stories of the gardeners, the everyday heroes that bring back the green Oasis to the island of Manhattan.
Featured performers for the May 10 show include: Bryan Fernandez, Alexandra Tatarsky, Alex Millan, Merry Carver, Marta Maria, Paola Michelle’s yoni dance, Kalan Sherrard bringing you some ecclectic performance Watch Out! Returning to Loisaida for the fourth year; Adam Ende’s Jawbone Puppet Theater, Pablillo Varona Borges of Casa Mucaro, national treasure Daniel Polnau, and more!
This will seriously be a weird and wonderful show that you don’t want to miss out on!
Check out the Loisaida’s Restorations Project: http://loisaida.org/the-seedbed/restoration-projects/
And check the work of last year’s Loisaida Artists in Residence: More Gardens http://www.moregardens.org/

Pasado y Presente: Art After the Young Lords
2019-05-03 | Nathan Cummings Foundation, 475 10th Avenue, New York, NY, 10018, United States
Pasado y Presente: Art After the Young Lords
On View at Nathan Cummings Foundation
475 10th Ave., 14th Floor
New York, NY 10018
May 3rd – October 25th, 2019.
Viewing is by appointment only.
Second site exhibition at Loisaida Inc. Center, opening to the public June 3rd, 2019

The Loisaida Inc. Center in partnership with the Nathan Cummings Foundation, are pleased to announce the opening of Pasado y Presente: Art After the Young Lords, an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Young Lords Organization in New York that will be on view at the Nathan Cummings Foundation offices through October 25, 2019. Active between 1969 and 1975, The Young Lords described themselves as a revolutionary party fighting for the liberation of all oppressed people. Their spectacular demonstrations, artful self-presentation, and masterful deployment of DIY media via their newspaper, Pa’lante, brought international attention to demands voiced in black and brown communities across the United States for cultural equity, equal rights for women and the LGBTQ population; communal control of housing, healthcare, education, sanitation; alternatives to methadone; and independence for Puerto Rico and other subjugated nations.
Spanning different generations, nationalities, and ethnicities, the artists displayed in Pasado y Presente represent a creative community that is connected to the Young Lords by their passion for art in the service of social justice and vanguard aesthetics. The work displayed here illuminates the influence that the Lords have had on activists and artists far beyond their six years as a formal organization. Featured in this exhibit are documentary photographs of Young Lords activism by Máximo Colón and Luis Carle and vintage posters from Taller Boricua, an East Harlem print collective that was allied with the Young Lords. Additional artists on display include: AgitArte, Pepe Coronado, Sophia Dawson, Marcos Dimas, Hatuey Ramos Fermín, Miguel Luciano, Carlos Jesús Martínez Domínguez, Shellyne Rodríguez, Adrián Viajero Román, Juan Sánchez, Nitza Tufiño, Rafael Tufiño, and Valor y Cambio.
The Loisaida Center will also be the first host-site of the VyC (“Valor y Cambio”) machine, an ATM-style device, which will travel to various locations distributing bills and, in return, gather stories on video about what people value.
Pasado y Presente will be accompanied by a booklet and a related exhibition at the Loisaida Center by AgitArte, Coronado Print Studio, Sherezade García, and Valor y Cambio that explores migration, movement, intra-diasporic Caribbean identity in NYC, alternative economies, story-telling and decolonial narratives. On Sunday, May 26, several participating artists in Pasado y Presente will take part in interactive urban interventions during the 32nd Annual Loisaida Festival.
Additionally, Nathan Cummings and the Loisaida Center will host a series of public programs investigating topics such as history and influence of the Young Lords in New York, feminist and LBGTQ activism in Latinx communities, cultural production and organizing in Puerto Rico post-Maria, the intersection of environmental justice with anti-displacement efforts in NYC’s poor and working class neighborhoods. Updates and dates of programming will be posted on the Nathan Cummings and Loisaida Center websites.

To set up an appointment to visit the exhibit, contact exhibits@nathancummings.org
The related exhibition at the Loisaida Center will be on view starting June 3rd, Mondays through Thursdays from noon to 4pm, and by appointment. Contact info@loisaida.org for scheduling.

Related Programming:
The Liquid Highway
Sunday, May 26th, 2019 at Loisaida Inc. Center’s Courtyard (710 East Ninth Street near Avenue C) from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.
Developed in collaboration with No Longer Empty and taking place during the Loisaida Festival, The Liquid Highway is a participatory printmaking workshop that celebrates movement and migration. Artist, Scherezade Garcia, will be on site leading an interactive installation of marine landscapes on inner tube material presented as scrolls. This urban intervention and printmaking workshop honors our shared collective history and the commitments we have to one another. Through the act of printmaking, the public will have the opportunity to print a section of the landscape and own their own piece of this complex history.
Valor Y Cambio – NYC Launch
Sunday, May 26th, 2019 at Loisaida Festival STEM Zone (between 6th and 7th Streets on Avenue C) from 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
Valor y Cambio (#valorycambio) is a story-telling, community-building, and solidarity economy project started by the artists Frances Negrón-Muntaner and Sarabel Santos Negrón. It raises the question of what Puerto Ricans value as a society and introduces a community currency—pesos of Puerto Rico—as a means of change, in the sense of both money and social transformation.
After its successful February 2019 launch in Puerto Rico, the community currency interactive project will make its NYC debut during the Loisaida Festival, as part of the Eco- STEAM zone.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

LATINOAMERICANIDAD
2019-04-02 18:00 - 20:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Description

The Loisaida Inc. Center in collaboraton with Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Intitute (CCCADI) present, Fabián Villegas:
LATINOAMERICANIDAD: RACIAL IDENTITIES, COLONIAL IMAGINARIES & NATIONAL NARRATIVES
About:
Fabián Villegas is a writer, journalist, spoken word artist, scholar and researcher in Global South epistemologies, decolonial thoughts and racial studies. Since 2007 to date, Villegas has been invited to give multiple conferences, seminars, lectures and workshops in various universities and academic centers, renowned art biennials and community cultural centers across the globe. He is also the co-founder of Contranarrativas, a collaborative project that seeks to create horizontal knowledge production spaces to stimulate the visibility, dissemination and production of epistemologies, decolonial narratives and peripheral aesthetics of the Global South. Born in Mexico City, Villegas currently resides in the Dominican Republic.
Join Fabián Villegas on April 2nd, 2019 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at Loisaida Inc. Center – 710 East Ninth Street and Avenue C, for an evening of Storytelling, Spoken Word and Creative Writing.
Lower East Side, NYC (Loisaida)

Agroecology & Food Sustainability
2019-03-30 18:30 - 20:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Simultaneous events at Loisaida Inc. Center and :Pública, a cultural space in Santurce, Puerto Rico; will explore the perceived tension between the traditional and the 21st century methods of harvesting and preparation as it relates to all things FOOD. Themes and topics will include: growing ingredients, recipes, colonization and agriculture, farming and imported food, where traditional cuisine comes from and what it means, and where and how Puerto Rican food can be found and prepared locally – both in the Lower East Side and in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
Space is limited, please RSVP here.
Presented as part of the Loisaida Inc. Center AIR Program. Lead by resident artist, Jocelyn Bonadio de Freitas.

@ Loisaida Inc. Center
Speakers: Tara Rodriguez-Besosa, Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas
Food by: Tara Rodriguez-Besosa (Asopao – Puerto Rican Stew))
Music/Sound Collage by: Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas
@ Pública
Speaker: Ian Pagan, Natalia Vallejo
Food by: Natalia Vallejo (Asopao – Puerto Rican Stew)
Program:

Doors Open at 6:00 pm
Event starts at 6:30 pm and ends at 8:00 pm EST
Rundown
6:30-6:45: Introduction and explanation of event by Jocelyn Bonadio-de Freitas
6:45-7:30: Talk/Sharing from Tara, Ian, Natalia including explanation of “asopao” (Puerto Rican Stew)
7:30-7:45: Audience eats, Q&A, Jocelyn set up
7:45-8:05: Jocelyn Live Sound performance*

Media Used for Justice, Equity, Respect
2019-03-25 17:30 - 19:30 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Pre-registration is required. Click here to register.
Limited spaces available.

Project LAZO: CROSSROADS
2019-03-19 18:00 - 2019-03-30 21:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
*Image by: Pedro Wainer | ‘Cruces’ , 2019.
LAZO at Loisaida present:
CROSSROADS
Opening Reception: Tuesday, March 19th, 2019 | 6-8 PM
Only through Saturday, March 30th
Curated by: Silvia Benedetti in collaboration with LAZO
Participating Artists:
Isabella Cruz-Chong
Jose Joaquín Figueroa
Catalina Schliebener
Pedro Wainer

Overview:
Standing in a crossroads makes us realize that the greatest block we can create for ourselves is the idea that there is a single right choice. This exhibition gathers a series of artworks –in a variety of mediums– in which the literal and figurative meaning of a crossroads is present. Daily life, childhood, gender, class, landscape, and identity are a few of the themes brought to bear by the works in the exhibition. These references, intersected through a range of material and narrative gestures, reveal how various perspectives can exist in a given moment.
This exhibition brings together four Latin American artists from different backgrounds for which New York functions as a point of intersection. The works on display build narratives along different lines: Isabella Cruz-Chong’s works reference the US-Mexico border fence, filmed on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Mexico where she grew up. She presents a performance/video of an invisible wall highlighting the struggle and irony that goes with it. Cruz-Chong also has on view instructions made for Mexican children who are learning how to behave when crossing the border.
José Joaquín Figueroa presents a record of everyday environments illustrating his ongoing pilgrimage. In his drawings he reflects on the fragility of fleeting moments, the complications of inter-layered identities, and the impossibility of a single perspective.
Catalina Schliebener presents a series of collages made with children’s books; material that carries implicit narratives around gender, sexuality, and class. She researches childhood, considering it an important period in which the limits between reality and fiction are not yet defined.
Lastly, Pedro Wainer explores analogue film and photographic techniques by reconfiguring technologies in disuse. He presents composite footage and moving projections made from still images of the East River from both sides in Manhattan and Brooklyn–highlighting the river and its bridges as both a geographic and man-made border meant to be crossed.
This exhibition was organized in collaboration with Silvia Benedetti, a Venezuelan New York-based independent
curator and art writer, and is part of a series of events organized by LAZO at The Loisaida Center in NYC.
Read more about the LAZO project and residency here.
Download press release here.

About the artists:
LAZO is a collaborative project founded by Alva Mooses and Claudia Cortínez. We are artists of Latin American descent focusing on intersections of photography, sculpture and printmaking and began working together while doing our graduate studies together at Yale University. We have organized exhibitions, publications, and talks that support artists while furthering cross-cultural dialogue. Both born in the U.S. (Alva to parents from Mexico & the U.S. and Claudia to parents from Argentina & Chile) our practices have relied largely on being based in NYC while working internationally creating ties to distinct communities.
Alva Mooses is an artist based in New York. She received her BFA from The Cooper Union and her MFA from Yale University. She has exhibited her work at the 10th Havana Biennial, Instituto Cervantes in NY, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Logan Center for the Arts, Eduardo Sívori Museum, among others. She has completed residencies such as the APL Program at The University of Chicago, Tou Trykk in Stavanger, Norway, the Davidoff Art Initiative in the Dominican Republic, and Casa Wabi in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has presented her work through artist talks at the Swiss Institute in NYC, Rogaland Kunstsenter in Norway, University of Chicago, among others. She is the recipient of a Yale University Schoelkopf Fellowship, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Artist Community Engagement Grant, and UChicago Arts Grant, among others. Since 2004, she has organized community art initiatives and collaborations in Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, and Argentina. Alva currently teaches Sculpture at The Cooper Union School of Art.
Claudia Cortínez is a visual artist currently living and working between Buenos Aires and NYC. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA at Yale University. She is the recipient of the Alice Kimball English Traveling Fellowship from Yale University (2012), the Blair Dickinson Memorial Grant from Yale University (2013), the Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist Grant in NYC (2013), among others. She has exhibited her work extensively in solo and group shows in the US, Latin America, and Europe, and has curated exhibitions at the Shirley Fiterman Art Center in NYC (2016) and the Eduardo Sívori Museum in Buenos Aires (2018), bringing together artists from both cities. She has participated in various residencies such as LMCC Swing Space (2014), La Ira de Dios (BsAs, 2016), Mass MoCA (2017), Real Time and Space (CA, 2018), and Tou Trykk (Norway, 2018), among others. She is currently an artist in residence at the NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, NY.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Project LAZO: ANALEMMA
2019-03-02 18:00 - 2019-03-12 21:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
*Image by: Alva Mooses | ,2019
LAZO at Loisaida present:
ANALEMMA
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 2nd, 2019 | 6-8 PM
Only through Tuesday, March 12th
Curated by: Javier Bosques in collaboration with LAZO
Participating Artists:
Javier Bosques
Alva Mooses
Mauricio Cortes Ortega
Sofía Reeser del Río
Ana Vaz
Pedro Wainer

Read more about the LAZO residency here.

About the artists:
LAZO is a collaborative project founded by Alva Mooses and Claudia Cortínez. We are artists of Latin American descent focusing on intersections of photography, sculpture and printmaking and began working together while doing our graduate studies together at Yale University. We have organized exhibitions, publications, and talks that support artists while furthering cross-cultural dialogue. Both born in the U.S. (Alva to parents from Mexico & the U.S. and Claudia to parents from Argentina & Chile) our practices have relied largely on being based in NYC while working internationally creating ties to distinct communities.
Alva Mooses is an artist based in New York. She received her BFA from The Cooper Union and her MFA from Yale University. She has exhibited her work at the 10th Havana Biennial, Instituto Cervantes in NY, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Logan Center for the Arts, Eduardo Sívori Museum, among others. She has completed residencies such as the APL Program at The University of Chicago, Tou Trykk in Stavanger, Norway, the Davidoff Art Initiative in the Dominican Republic, and Casa Wabi in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has presented her work through artist talks at the Swiss Institute in NYC, Rogaland Kunstsenter in Norway, University of Chicago, among others. She is the recipient of a Yale University Schoelkopf Fellowship, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Artist Community Engagement Grant, and UChicago Arts Grant, among others. Since 2004, she has organized community art initiatives and collaborations in Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, and Argentina. Alva currently teaches Sculpture at The Cooper Union School of Art.
Claudia Cortínez is a visual artist currently living and working between Buenos Aires and NYC. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA at Yale University. She is the recipient of the Alice Kimball English Traveling Fellowship from Yale University (2012), the Blair Dickinson Memorial Grant from Yale University (2013), the Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist Grant in NYC (2013), among others. She has exhibited her work extensively in solo and group shows in the US, Latin America, and Europe, and has curated exhibitions at the Shirley Fiterman Art Center in NYC (2016) and the Eduardo Sívori Museum in Buenos Aires (2018), bringing together artists from both cities. She has participated in various residencies such as LMCC Swing Space (2014), La Ira de Dios (BsAs, 2016), Mass MoCA (2017), Real Time and Space (CA, 2018), and Tou Trykk (Norway, 2018), among others. She is currently an artist in residence at the NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, NY.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Art in the Garden: Painting Ceramic Tiles
2019-02-20 17:30 - 19:30 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Description

Facilitated by artist Alejandro Epifanio Juan of Loisaida, Inc. and ceramic specialist Essye Klempner
Make beautiful ceramic tiles to bring art to your garden! This workshop is the first of two parts. Led by artists Alejandro Epifanio Juan of Loisaida, Inc. and ceramic specialist Essye Klempner, participants will paint ceramic tiles during this class and pick up their fired tiles from the GreenThumb office at a later date. The second part will be held in the spring where we will install our new decorative ceramic tiles in gardens through mosaic paver stones and other options.
Space is limited*. Registration does not guarantee admission, which will be on a first-come first-served basis, with priority given to those who register here on Eventbrite until 5:30 pm, when we will open it up to the public. *SOLD OUT*
Pictured: Bimbo Rivas, mosaic by: Carlos Pinto installed at Two Boots Pizzeria in Loisaida.

Ecological City: Climate Solutions Project -Planning Meeting
2019-02-06 18:30 - 20:30 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Description
2018 Loisaida, Inc. Artist in Residence: Ecological City is planning its yearly neighborhood wide Procession for Climate Solutions. Come to the meeting and learn how to get involved
Share ideas, brainstorm and and collaborate co-creating the Ecological City: Procession for Climate Solutions at the ECOLOGICAL CITY – PLANNING MEETING
Find out how to participate in Ecological Arts Workshops from March 2- May 8 every Wednesday 6-9pm and Saturday 12-4pm creating spectacular giant puppets, costumes and performances exploring local sustainability sites and climate solution initiatives. Workshop location to be announced.
Groups and organizations are invited to create groups arts projects.
Visual arts and performance projects created through the workshops are presented in the culminating Ecological City: Procession for Climate Solutions on Saturday May 11, 2019 with 20 sites performances celebrating climate solutions and ecological sustainability initiatives throughout community gardens, neighborhood and East River Park waterfront on the Lower East Side.
Space is limited. Registration does not guarantee admission, which will be on a first-come first-served basis, with priority given to those who register.
Pictured: Ecological City contingent at the 2018 Loisaida Festival.

Project LAZO: Supported at its Ends—Hanging by its Weight
2019-01-29 18:00 - 20:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
*Image by: Luciana Pinchiero | El Cuello con Manchas de El Eco (El Eco’s Spotty Neck), 2017
LAZO at Loisaida present:
Supported at its Ends—Hanging by its Weight
Opening Reception: January 29th, 2019 | 6-8 PM
January 29th – February 8th, 2019
Participating Artists:
Ronny Quevedo
Amy Westpfahl
Dolores Furtado
Gaby Collins-Fernandez
Mauricio Cortes Ortega
Pedro Wainer
Daniel Greenfield-Campoverde
Luciana Pinchiero
Esperanza Mayobre
Bernadette Despujols
Omar Barquet
Kristin Reger
Maximilliano Siñani
Constanza Alarcon Tennen

Read more about the residency here.

About the artists:
LAZO is a collaborative project founded by Alva Mooses and Claudia Cortínez. We are artists of Latin American descent focusing on intersections of photography, sculpture and printmaking and began working together while doing our graduate studies together at Yale University. We have organized exhibitions, publications, and talks that support artists while furthering cross-cultural dialogue. Both born in the U.S. (Alva to parents from Mexico & the U.S. and Claudia to parents from Argentina & Chile) our practices have relied largely on being based in NYC while working internationally creating ties to distinct communities.
Alva Mooses is an artist based in New York. She received her BFA from The Cooper Union and her MFA from Yale University. She has exhibited her work at the 10th Havana Biennial, Instituto Cervantes in NY, Shirley Fiterman Art Center, Logan Center for the Arts, Eduardo Sívori Museum, among others. She has completed residencies such as the APL Program at The University of Chicago, Tou Trykk in Stavanger, Norway, the Davidoff Art Initiative in the Dominican Republic, and Casa Wabi in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has presented her work through artist talks at the Swiss Institute in NYC, Rogaland Kunstsenter in Norway, University of Chicago, among others. She is the recipient of a Yale University Schoelkopf Fellowship, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Artist Community Engagement Grant, and UChicago Arts Grant, among others. Since 2004, she has organized community art initiatives and collaborations in Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, and Argentina. Alva currently teaches Sculpture at The Cooper Union School of Art.
Claudia Cortínez is a visual artist currently living and working between Buenos Aires and NYC. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA at Yale University. She is the recipient of the Alice Kimball English Traveling Fellowship from Yale University (2012), the Blair Dickinson Memorial Grant from Yale University (2013), the Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist Grant in NYC (2013), among others. She has exhibited her work extensively in solo and group shows in the US, Latin America, and Europe, and has curated exhibitions at the Shirley Fiterman Art Center in NYC (2016) and the Eduardo Sívori Museum in Buenos Aires (2018), bringing together artists from both cities. She has participated in various residencies such as LMCC Swing Space (2014), La Ira de Dios (BsAs, 2016), Mass MoCA (2017), Real Time and Space (CA, 2018), and Tou Trykk (Norway, 2018), among others. She is currently an artist in residence at the NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, NY.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

g e o d e s i c l i n g u i x ; Charas as Infinite Thought Object
2019-01-09 08:00 - 17:00 | The Poetry Club, 131 E. 10th Street, New York, NY, 10003, United States
Matthew Mottel & Edwin Torres
EVENT DETAILS:TICKETSWednesday, January 9, 2019, 8:00 pm

g e o d e s i c l i n g u i x ;
Charas as Infinite Thought Object
The history of dome building on the Lower East Side goes back to when CHARAS built domes in collaboration with Buckminster Fuller in 1972/73. Syeus Mottel documented this effort in his photojournalism book CHARAS; THE IMPROBABLE DOME BUILDERS, first published in 1973 and now re-published in 2018 by Song Cave Press & Pioneer Works.
On 1.9.19, The Poetry Project, will stage a performative action between artist, and researcher Matthew Mottel and poet Edwin Torres. Torres has been an active member of the Loisaida community since the 90’s, where he’s performed his ‘lingualisualist’ poetics, rooted in sight and sound, at many iconic venues. Mottel, has been a member of the experimental arts community of New York City since the late 1990’s.
In interviewing Chino Garcia (co-founder of CHARAS), Matthew was told that one of the domes CHARAS built in the 1970’s was portable and used as sites for experimental performance. In this spirit,Mottel and Torres will perform in and around a Geodesic Dome built inside the Poetry Project.
Mottel will screen a documentary video on the history of CHARAS’s dome building activity. And Torres will perform from his recent book, “XOETEOX: THE INFINITE WORD OBJECT” (Wave Books) within a sonically & visually-charged geodesic environment.
As the finale of the evening, the two will collaborate in and around the dome. This event will further expand the narrative of CHARAS’s original dome actions, to pair with contemporary performance and poetics, and to champion new forms with new content. This collaboration was facilitated by the Loisaida Center, who introduced the artists and hosted Mottel’s exhibition ‘Charas is alive on Spaceship Earth’ in May – June 2018.

MATTHEW MOTTEL

Matthew Mottel (born 1981, New York, NY) is an artist, performer and writer. Matthew researches political and cultural histories to ameliorate the relationships between archival historical documents and their contemporary context. These investigations often are in the form of sculpture, intermedia art installation and performance; creating unique environments for archival media to exist within. Matthew was an Artist In Residence At Issue Project Room in 2010 and an LMCC Swing Space Recipient in 2011. He has presented work at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The Kitchen, New York; Deitch Projects, New York; All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival; London and Moers Music, Germany.
He received in 2003, a B.A at SUNY New Paltz, his degree in Political & Cultural Studies. He presented his thesis exhibition towards an M.F.A. at City College’s Digital Intermedia Art Practice program in 2018 with graduation in 2019.

EDWIN TORRES

Edwin Torres is a NYC native whose books include, XoeteoX: the infinite word object (Wave Books), Ameriscopia (University of Arizona Press), and The PoPedology of an Ambient Language (Atelos Books). Anthologies include: American Poets in the 21st Century: Poetics of Social Engagement, Who Will Speak For America, Angels of the Americlypse: New Latin@ Writing, and Aloud; Voices From The Nuyorican Poets Café. Recent collaborations include; Sowndhauz-an electro-lingo duo with Matt Harle, Poex-a collection of sound pieces created with Stephen Vitiello, and Resurrection-a site-specific installation performance with Julie Carr. He is editor of the forthcoming anthology from Counterpath Press entitled, The Body In Language: An Anthology.

Exhibition Closing: Our Time by Antonio Serna
2018-11-30 11:00 - 17:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Last chance to see the exhibition:
Documents of Resistance: Our Time
by: Antonio Serna

Overview:
Loisaida Center Inc. is pleased to present Documents of Resistance: Our Time, a participatory exhibition and residency of new work by Antonio Serna.
How do we give contours to an art history that remains unwritten, scattered across archives, and siloed in scholarship? How can we begin to reconnect the struggle for civil rights across all artists of color and their fight for inclusion in our cultural institutions? How can we being to reflect on the complexity of artists of color and their unique experience, political actions, and art production as part of the art history in American? In the exhibition, Documents of Resistance: Our Time, Mexican-American artist, Antonio Serna is hoping to take us down a visual path to consider these and many other questions in regards to the important but often overlook contributions of artist of color.
Central to the exhibition will be a series timeline collages of art and activism from each decade, from 1960s up to our current decade. In combining the histories of artists of color, visitors will be able to visually locate overlapping shared concerns and experiences of artists of color: from the Chicano Movement to the Black Power Movement, and from the Labor Movement to the Feminist, Third World Movement, and beyond. Leading up to and during the exhibition, Antonio Serna is asking the public to send in their memories of this resistance: people, places, or events relevant in order to continue to expand this histories. Serna’s interest is not just a reflection of the past hopes to inspire and empower a new generation of people of color to join the struggle in becoming the next generation of artists, activists, curators, historians, archivist, and museum workers, to help end discrimination in our cultural institutions.
Goals:
My current project ‘Documents of Resistance,’ is an ongoing art project that draws inspiration from the history of art and activism by artists of color from 1960-present. My goal is to develop several specific in depth projects under this expansive umbrella. Specifically, for my residency at The Loisaida Center, I will be focusing on ‘Our Time,’ a multimedia installation that chronicles the connections and relationships between people, places, and events that influenced artists of color. Central to ‘Our Time’ is a series of 4 visual timeline-collages that contextualize this unique history. The timelines include historic images of protests against racism in museums in New York and collective activities in places such as Watts and East Los Angeles, among other political activities. By giving visual form to this history, we can gain an overview of overlapping concerns, cross-cultural themes, and socio-political forces that affected the studio production and protests organizing of artists of color. Over the span of my residency at The Loisaida Center visitors, special guests, and the public will be ask to comment and contribute to the project.
During the research and development phase of the residency, the artist will conduct a Call for Public Participation, to participate please fill out this form.
Outcome, exhibition:
Documents of Resistance: Our Time
September 14th – November 30th
Exhibition Closing: Friday, November 30th, 2018 – 11am to 5pm
For his exhibition, ‘ Documents of Resistance: Our Time, the upcoming exhibition at Loisaida, resident artists Antonio Serna, is creating timelines to highlight the art and activism of artists of color. Help us build these important timelines by sending in your memories of resistance: people, places, or events relevant to the history of art and activism by people of color; These timelines will provide information for future research, scholarship, and display.
Call for Public Participation:
Do you remember a spot in your neighborhood that was an important place for artists of color meet and make art. Do you recall a rally or protest organized by artists of color? How about and exhibition by and for artists of color? Or community art projects that were made by and for communities of color? We want to collect all these important moments.
Contribute by filling out the form below:

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About the artist:
Antonio Serna is a Mexican-American artist, activist, and independent researcher. For over a decade Antonio has helped lead and co-organize several art projects and activist interventions in New York, Texas, Las Vegas, Spain, Mexico, Berlin, and Romania. Most recently he has contributed to labor equity portion of “People’s Cultural Plan,” which launched at Artists Space in 2017, and the Brooklyn Community Forum on Gentrification at the Brooklyn Museum in 2016. Other notable projects include his work on alternative economies for artists including artCommons at The Queens Museum and “What Do We Do Now?” at Eyebeam, both held in 2013. Antonio Serna is originally from Texas and holds a Masters in Fine Arts from Brooklyn College, and a Bachelor of Arts from Parsons School of Art and Design.
His current project Documents of Resistances has recently been included in a new book Art As Social Action, edited by Gregory Sholette, Chloe Bass, and Queens Social Practice (Allworth Press). An artist residency and exhibition for this project has also been schedule for the Fall of 2018 at The Loisaida Center in New York City.

Relevant links to websites/publications/reviews/etc.

Personal website: www.antonioserna.com
Press: “Empowering Latinx Arts Practitioners at the Latinx Artist Retreat (LXAR),” Lynnette Miranda. Chicago Artist Writers, June 7, 2017.
Press: “Can Protest Art Survive And Thrive During A Trump Presidency,”Anjali Enjeti. Pacific Standard, May 27, 2017.
Press: “Antinomies of Art Activism and Documentation: The Curatorial Approach of Agitprop at the Brooklyn Museum,” Izabel Galliera, Issue 4, Field Journal, 2016.

“Opinions like those expressed while in a panel, presentation, performance or through artwork are expressed by the author in their personal capacity and are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Loisaida Inc., its affiliates or staff.”

Book Talk: Counter Institution by Nandini Bagchee
2018-11-28 18:30 - 20:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Book Talk: Counter Institution by Nandini Bagchee
Wednesday, November 28, 6:30pm
Loisaida Center, 710 E 9th St
Counterinstitution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side, examines the open-ended histories of activism in the Lower East Side by looking at the spaces used by activists- storefronts, gardens and offices to bring forth the hidden dimensions of these organizational spaces through a collaging together of architectural drawings techniques with archival research, photography and writing. This book examines three re-purposed buildings on the Lower East Side that have been used by activists to launch actions over the past forty years. The Peace Pentagon was the headquarters of the anti-war movement, El Bohio was a metaphoric “hut” that envisioned the Puerto Rican Community as a steward of the environment, and ABC No Rio, a name appropriated from a storefront sign with missing letters, was a catchy punk name that appealed to the anarchistic sensibility of the artists that ran a storefront gallery in a run-down tenement. The “activist estates” explored in this book represents both a conceptual and a literal struggle to create a space for civic action in a city that is built upon real estate speculation.
A book talk by author Nandini Bagchee will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Gregory Sholette. Nandini Bagchee is an Associate Professor of Architecture and History at City College New York and a Principal at Bagchee Architects. Greg Sholette is an artist, activist and author of Delirium and Resistance: Art, Activism & the Crisis of Capitalism (Pluto Press 2017) and Dark Matter: Art and Politics in an Age of Enterprise Culture (Pluto Press, 2011). At this event we will also launch a call for participation for an exhibition planned at the Loisaida Center titled, “Activist Estates: An Alternate History of Real Estate in Loisaida”.
This exhibition designed and curated by Nandini Bagchee in collaboration with Loisaida Center will be mounted in May 2019 to celebrate the history of space-based activism in the Lower East Side. Through timelines, photographs, artifacts, film and architectural models- the exhibit will invite visitors to share their own stories and images to fill in the blanks or simply re-interpret the material within the show. Community workshops and envisioning sessions will open new discussions of the future of community-
controlled space.
Co-Sponsored by the Loisaida Center and GVSHP
This event is fully accessible.

Reflect to Revolutionize - Critical Thinking Seminar
2018-11-16 14:00 - 2018-12-14 16:00 | The Loisaida Inc. Center, 710 East 9th Street, New York, NY, 10009, United States
Reflect to Revolutionize – Critical Thinking Seminar
Loisaida, Inc | 710 East 9th Street | New York, NY 10009
Friday, November 16, 2018 at 2:00 PM – Friday, December 14, 2018 at 4:00 PM (EST)

Pilot collaboration presented by Radical Love consciousness and Loisaida Inc.
REFLECT TO REVOLUTIONIZE

4 Sessions
2 Fridays, November 16 and 30
2 Fridays, December 7 and 14
2 pm – 4 pm
Loisaida Inc. – 710 East 9th Street and Avenue C

RLC Mission Statement:
Radical love is a verb, ethic and revolutionary mindset; a consciousness that demands the liberation of all. We are a team of women of color dedicated to the liberation of all people through radical love and critical consciousness. Based in New York City, we organize workshops, classes and programs that strive not only to be accessible, but cater to the wants and needs of poor and working class people of color.
We are a team of young women of color dedicated to the liberation of all people through radical love and critical consciousness. Based in New York City, we organize workshops, classes and programs that strive not only to be accessible, but cater to the wants and needs of poor and working class people of color. We are organizing various programs throughout the next month, and are interested in hosting our “Reflect to Revolutionize” workshops in the Loisaida Center for four consecutive Tuesday nights this November.
The Reflect to Revolutionize workshops are devoted to practicing critical thinking and meaningful self-reflection as pathways to liberating transformation. These facilitated discussions will shine light on the ways that oppressive systems and legacies of colonialism and slavery affect our daily lives and choices. We will rethink and redefine our notions of self, purpose, power and community. Our goal is to provide an active space where we confront our own trauma and fear in order to rise stronger as a collective.

Organizer and facilitator: Amy Neshama
Hosted by: Loisaida Inc.
