El Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte (Universidad de Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras). In 1961. Image courtesy Taller Boricua
Taller Boricua is proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in conjunction with its “Inaugural Fall 2023 Exhibition Season,” with the exclusive NYC exhibit and opening reception of architect and visual artist Rafael (Chafo) Villamil’s “Caribbean Trilogy/Trilogia del Caribe” Friday, September 15, 2023, from 6 to 9 pm. It will be on view at the Taller Boricua Galleries through October 29, 2023.
Cocotazo at La Marqueta. Image courtesy Uptown Grand Central
This summer, head Uptown with the family for a diversity of dining options — plus a welcoming schedule of weekend fun — at the Open Streets in El Barrio.
Every weekend through Labor Day, the Open Streets at Restaurant Row and the Open Streets at La Marqueta are programmed with street furniture for outdoor dining, games and sidewalk chalk, plus water play when the temps are high. Each street also features a daily schedule of Storytime in partnership with Harlem4Kids, Craft Time with local artisans and Live Music featuring sounds ranging from jazz to Latin to funk and more.
Augusto Marín, 1873-1973, 1973. Collection of El Museo del Barrio. Image courtesy of El Museo del Barrio.
El Museo del Barrio is proud to announce Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección, the Museum’s most ambitious presentation of its unique, complex, and culturally diverse permanent collection in over two decades. Organized by Rodrigo Moura, Chief Curator; Susanna V. Temkin, Curator; and Lee Sessions, Permanent Collection Associate Curator, the exhibition will present approximately 500 artworks, including new acquisitions and artist commissions, through rotating displays over the course of one year. Something Beautiful cuts across traditional chronological, geographic, and media-specific categories, reconsidering the Collection through new interdisciplinary approaches rooted in El Museo del Barrio’s foundational history and legacy. This forward-thinking model focuses on the contribution of Amerindian, African, and European cultures as the basis of visual production in the Americas and the Caribbean. See list of participating artists.
Photo credit: Mario Carrion from his film “Record Shop”. Courtesy CCCADI
East Harlem’s Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute will celebrate Record Store Day at 120 E 125th Street with DJ sets spinning a variety of genres on vinyl, a film screening, and a pop-up shop.
This free event, entitled RnBnP Record Store Day: Diggin’ Through Crates, features sets by DJs Hard Hittin Harry (African/Caribbean) and DJ Kamala (Jazz/House). The event’s pop-up shop with vinyl records and roller skates available for purchase will be hosted by The Shop NYC on Saturday, April 22nd from Noon to 6:00pm.
Dancing in the Streets South Bronx 1980 by Joe Condo Jr. Image courtesy of the artist and CCCADI
As the world commemorates Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary, the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) launches its latest in-person exhibition entitled,Rhythm, Bass and Place: Through the Lens. Launching on March 17, 2023 with a free public reception at CCCADI (120 E 125th Street, NY, NY 10035), this exhibition, featuring the photographs of New York photographers Joe Conzo Jr. and Malik Yusef Cumbo, explores the moments in which musical styles were created in New York City’s African Diasporic communities. From portrait to photojournalism, this exhibition is a testament to a social movement, a cultural renaissance and a communally crafted sound experience that reverberates worldwide.
The Esplanade Friends’ years of tireless advocacy is paying off, thanks in large part to your continuing support. The Pier 107 and Bobby Wagner Walk Project is finally moving forward. Community Board 11 and the New York City Economic Development Corporation want to hear from you about whether to rebuild the Pier on 107th or 112th St. Register for the February 9th or 11th visioning meetings now.
El Museo del Barrio is delighted to present the 46th Annual Three Kings Day Parade and Celebration! Returning to an in-person experience, the Parade’s theme this year is Entre Familia: Mental Health & Wellness of our Communities, giving space and focus to the importance of mental health and wellness, in light of national political and health occurrences these past few years.
artists Kevin Quiles Bonilla and Zaq Landsberg created For centuries, and still… (anticipated completion) for Harlem Art Park. In the background, the art installation ‘Growth’ and behind, the historic Harlem courthouse. Photo credit: Zaq Landsberg
Save the Date, Sunday, July 30, 2023 from 1-3, for a collective poster-making learnshop with Kevin Quiles Bonilla and Zaq Landsberg in Harlem Art Park.
Leaning as if falling into the sea, artists Kevin Quiles Bonilla and Zaq Landsberg reimagined a garita from the historic fortresses of Old San Juan, hammered by hurricanes on the fifth anniversary year of Hurricane Maria.
We were on site at the East Harlem Art Park for the installation of For centuries, and still... (anticipated completion).
Reynier Leyva Novo, Methuselah. Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Reynier Leyva Novo: Methuselah, from October 27, 2022 to March 26, 2023. Conceived by the Cuban-born and Houston based artist Reynier Levya Novo, the digital artwork virtually reproduces the 5000-kilometer transnational migratory journey of a single monarch butterfly, tracking its travel from southern Canada across the United States to Mexico. Embodied through the life of a virtual avatar, the epic journey is hosted and reproduced in real time on a specially designed, open-access, dedicated website. Commissioned by El Museo del Barrio with the support of VIA Art Fund, the in-person mixed-reality presentation at El Museo debuts in conjunction with the upcoming Fall exhibition, Juan Francisco Elso: Por América.
RSVP for the Public Program & Virtual Project Launch on Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 7:00pm Here.
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), in partnership with the Friends of Harlem Art Park Alliance (FAPA), is hosting its 4th annual AFRIBEMBÉ FESTIVAL: Sankofa! on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022. The free, daylong celebration of Pan-African artistry, intellectuality, and musicality will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Harlem Art Park and throughout East 120th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues.
Vicente and Cristina Barreiro have owned and operated Casa Latina Music Shop on 116th Street in El Barrio for more than half a century. We were sad to hear that this historic shop will be closing its doors.
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) announced the signing of a 49-year lease at the organization’s newest location, where they will continue to foster space for cultural equity and racial and social justice in New York City’s arts and culture community. Located at One East Harlem, 201 East 125th Street, the new cultural center will expand CCCADI’s footprint and provide a space where African descendants with diverse cultural expressions and contributions can gather to exchange, search, and affirm their roots.
The Abyss of the Ocean: Cuban Women Photographers, Migrations, and the Question of Race focuses on identity and resistance through the creative practices of five artists living and working in the United States, Mexico, and Spain. The exhibition reveals the experiences and strategies of survival of María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Coco Fusco, Marta María Pérez Bravo, Gertrudis Rivalta, and Juana Valdés within the matrix of Latinx Art. Through their work, these artists challenge the concept of Latinidad and its relationship to Blackness in the modern/colonial project. Unsettling the totalizing definitions of Cuban, Latin American, and Latinx Art, The Abyss of the Ocean presents key photographic series produced since the 1990s. These photographs lay bare the nuance of the artists’ multiple Diasporic identities while confronting racist and colonialist stereotypes of women’s bodies.
Raphael Montañez Ortiz with Archaeological Find #22, 1961. Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio is pleased to present Raphael Montañez Ortiz: A Contextual Retrospective, from April 14 to September 11, 2022, the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to the artist, activist, educator, and founder of El Museo del Barrio, since 1988. Curated by El Museo’s chief curator, Rodrigo Moura, and guest curator Julieta González, the exhibition spans several decades of his production, from the 1950s to the early-2020s, in different media such as film, painting, photography, video installations, documents, and assemblages. This is the largest exhibition-to-date dedicated to the artist.
Three Kings Day Poster Illustration by artist Daniel DelValle. Image via El Museo del Barrio.
The 45th Annual Three Kings Day will be celebrated virtually, with some in-person programs in El Barrio this year, with the fitting theme: Samos el Cambio: Protecting the Environment for Future Generations, honoring the work of those who call on us to sustainably steward our environment, and help foster cultural transformation through community empowerment and artistic expression. The Event also takes into consideration the health and safety of the community by celebrating on-line, and presenting a series of activities spread out over several weeks.
Harlem Night Market 2019 courtesy Uptown Grand Central
From tamales to coquito, sorrel to sweet potato pie: The Harlem Night Market at La Marqueta is back for the 2021 holiday season, to celebrate the diversity of cultures that make up East, Central and West Harlem.
Launched to great success two years ago, the market was suspended last season due to the pandemic, but is back in action this December thanks to creators Uptown Grand Central, TBo Harlem, Union Settlement and NYC Public Markets (operated by the NYC Economic Development Corporation).
The Manhattan Community Board 11 Environment, Open Space & Parks Committee present an El Barrio Parks Tour, exploring 14 parks in northern East Harlem!
Capucine Bourcart: Plastic Fantastic! at Harlem Art Park. Image courtesy of the artist
Harlem Art Park unveiled its latest temporary public art installation, Plastic Fantastic! With a kaleidoscope of color, artist Capucine Bourcart encourages the viewer to evaluate their own environmental footprint. The large-scale installation measures over 66-feet wide and 7-feet high, demonstrating the abundance of single use plastics and its impact on our public spaces and our environment. Plastic Fantastic! interacts with Jorge Luis Rodriguez’s permanent sculpture, Growth, installed in 1985, along with the unique architectural elements that make this park a hidden gem in East Harlem.
Join artist Capucine Bourcart for Opening Reception and Preview, Thursday, July 8, 2021 from 5-7pm at Harlem Art Park ~ CANCELLED due to weather.
Taller Boricua kicked-off 2021 with the online exhibition, Women on the Edge of Time, featuring a collection of art by members from the prestigious and long-standing New York arts organization, New York Society of Women Artists(NYSWA). The exhibit went live, online, during Women’s History Month in March, with 36 member artists expressing their thoughts on such issues as social justice and the struggle for equality through their work.
Dominique Duroseau; b. 1978, Chicago, IL; raised in Haiti; lives and works in Newark, NJ
On March 13, 2021, El Museo del Barrio will open its doors to Estamos Bien ~ La Triennial 20/21, the museum’s first national large-scale survey of Latinx contemporary art. The exhibition will feature more than 40 artists from across the United States and Puerto Rico.
New York City delights in its myriad of neighborhoods, each with its local restaurants and shops of all kinds. As we hold our collective breath on the survival of our favorite local haunts, we breath a grateful sigh of relief when lights go on, and doors open ~ even if only for take-out.
And so it was with great relief when we learned that the historic East Harlem Market, La Marqueta, would be opening its doors again, with one of the best-kept-bakery secrets in town, Sprinkle Splash Bake Shoppe.
Oh, how New Yorkers enjoyed the gourmet bistro, Amuse Bouche, when they opened their doors in the historic East Harlem La Marqueta Market last year. It quickly became a go-to place for a wide selection of tempting treats, fresh baked goods, sumptuous prepared meals, finely brewed coffees and teas ~ and a great place to meet for Sunday Brunch.
The Museum’s physical reopening will be celebrated with Taller Boricua: A Political Print Shop in New York, the first monograph exhibition in three decades about the East Harlem-based Nuyorican collective workshop and alternative space. Curated by Rodrigo Moura, Chief Curator of El Museo del Barrio, the exhibition had been postponed due to the temporary closure, and is now on view as of September 12, 2020 through January 17, 2021.
As part of El Museo del Barrio’s year-long initiative ESTAMOS BIEN: LA TRIENAL 20/21, the museum announces the debut of Somxs Podemx, a newly commissioned video by Puerto Rican performance duo Poncilí Creación, on Thursday, August 27 at 6pm. Known for their fantastical and improvisational approach to puppetry, the collective – composed of identical twin brothers Pablo and Efrain Del Hierro – describe their practice as “speculative alchemy.” For Somxs Podemx, the group takes to the streets for a durational progression across the neighborhoods of San Juan, Poncilí Creación’s hometown and where they have been in quarantine during the global pandemic.
Louisiane Saint Fleurant (n. Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Haiti 1924~f.2005). Sans titre (Portrait de femme avec les filles). Sin ficha; (Sin tituto (Retrato de muter condos muchachas)); Oleo sobre liens; 76.2 x 101.6 cm; Collection El Museo del Barrio, Nueva York; Donacion de Sanford Rubenstein, 2007.25.6. Image courtesy El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio announces Popular Painters and Other Visionaries, the museum’s first online exhibition that examines the work of 30 artists from the Americas and the Caribbean. Curated by El Museo’s Chief Curator, Rodrigo Moura, and originally planned as an in-person experience, the exhibition was adapted as a virtual presentation that will be on view from August 6 to November 8, 2020.
NYCEDC issued this request for proposals on behalf of the City of New York. They are seeking qualified proposals from community organizations, consultants, agencies or companies with experience in event planning and execution, marketing, branding, public relations, food and beverage sales and marketing, and/or community outreach to serve as a Community Partner for La Marqueta Public Market (“La Marqueta”).
El Museo Del Barrio Presents The 43rd Annual Three Kings Day Parade which will be held on Monday, January 6, 2020. The Parade, entitled Nuestros Barrios Unidos: Celebrating our Collective Strength, will celebrate immigrant and migrant communities of past and present that continue to keep history alive by celebrating the cultural traditions of El Barrio and beyond. Grand Marshall will be Marco Saavedra, Immigrant Rights Activist and Member of “The Dream 9”.
HART: The Harlem Art Collective is the creative force behind The Guerrilla Gallery, located on 116th Street in El Barrio. In a community with a history of welcoming immigrants, local artists use the wall, located between second and Third Avenues, to address pressing issues of our times ~ local, national and international. This month, they had a lot to say.
Join us as we visit the Harlem Art Collective’s Summer Wall Exhibition.
EVER for Monument Art Project, PS 109 at 99th Street & Third Avenue
MonumentArt2015 was the second installment of the International Mural Festival in East Harlem and the Bronx, sponsored by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, José Morales of La Marqueta Retoña and La Respuesta in Santurce, Puerto Rico, partnered with muralist Celso González to produce and curate the festival. Eleven internationally known artists created nine murals throughout El Barrio from 99th Street to 138th Street. Many of the murals focused on El Barrio’s rich culture and heritage. Let’s take a walk, as we watched the artists create in October, 2015.
Mapping Resistance: The Young Lords in El Barrio ~ Images by Hiram Maristany. This image located on 99th Street, just west of Second Avenue, on the side wall of PS 109
Mapping Resistance: The Young Lords in El Barrio is a new public art project featuring photographs by renowned photographer, Hiram Maristany ~ a founding member of the Young Lords and their official photographer. Follow along as we take the walking tour, map in hand to view 10 large-scale images across five locations in El Barrio.
The much anticipated opening of the gourmet bistro, Amuse Bouche in La Marqueta is finally here! The expansion of the popular caterer will be open from Thursday through Sunday, with a wide selection of tempting treats, fresh baked goods, sumptuous prepared meals, and finely brewed coffees and teas.
Vargas-Suarez Universal Virus Americanus XIII, 2003. Oil enamel on wood. Acquired through “PROARTISTA: Sustaining the Work of Living Contemporary Artists,” a fund from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust and a donation from the artist 2003.16.
El Museo del Barrio will celebrate its 50th Anniversary with a major permanent collection exhibition and timeline, contextualizing the history of the institution, in a two-part exhibition. The exhibition will reflect on the institution’s activist origins and pioneering role as a cultural and educational organization dedicated to Latinx and Latin American art and culture.
El Barrio has a gorgeous new mural on the side of the building which is the home to Galeria Del Barrio. It is another in a series of community projects lead by artist Manny Vega, and is a mosaic mural, entitled Al Ritmo de La Paz.
Race, Myth, Art, and Justice celebrates a community of voices who illuminate how art continues to serve as a powerful tool for justice. As part of CCCADI’s commitment to public engagement and collaboration, the curators invited thirteen dynamic scholars, activists, artists, and writers to reflect on the exhibition’s works.
On the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission agenda in December, 2018, was a discussion on the 1st Spanish United Methodist Church becoming an Individual Landmark. Also known as The People’s Church, the discussion is not for its architectural merit, but for its historic cultural significance, located in the heart of El Barrio, associated with theYoung Lords occupation in 1969 and 1970. On Tuesday, December 12, 2018, it was determined that the history of the Young Lords still divides the community, and both the Church and the local Council Member would like more time to allow for more community dialogue. The 1st Spanish United Methodist Church will be removed from the calendar, per time limits established by Section 25-303(1) of the Landmarks Law, and can be considered for designation at a future date.
Join the First Spanish Methodist Church on May 21st and 22nd, 2022 for its 100th Anniversary!
The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) are excited to usher in a new chapter in the organization’s evolution with the unanimous appointment of Melody Capote as Executive Director.
The historic La Marqueta open-air events and retail space located under the Park Avenue viaduct at 115th Street will be getting a well-needed makeover.
Buckle-up for a plethora of Holiday Events, outdoor art installation and exhibitions this month ~ from Tree Lightings and Markets to the new car-free Fifth Avenue, there is no end to the fun to be had this Holiday Season. Here are a few suggestions for the month of December.
We were there from start (Saturday, August 24th, 2018 at Noon) to end of day on Sunday, August 25th. The 38th Edition of Graffiti Hall of Fame, El Barrio. Check it out.
The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) moved into a historic firehouse in East Harlem in 2016. Since then, a plethora of art, education and entertainment have filled the floors within. Here are a few events coming up that caught our eye.
Who wouldn’t want to live on ~ Dream Street. Well, in this case, we’re on 124th Street between Second and Third Avenues ~ and the dreamy mural is a depiction of a multi-cultural city painted by local children, most of them homeless.
Sprinkle Splash ~ one of the many local businesses in La Marqueta
Buy Local East Harlem Meet & Greetis a chance to create sustainable relationships between local merchants and local companies & institutions in East Harlem. Come and meet your neighbors ~ the owners of local businesses ~ the people who make the community unique, and the people who call East Harlem ~ Home.
Moving into Women’s History Month, Taller Boricua Gallery invited 25 women artists to create art about present conditions of ‘Disillusionment.’ “Addressing issues of deception, falseness, unfaithfulness, betrayal and treachery ~ with reference to wearing, inhabiting, being veiled, clothed, draped, revealed, exposed or wrapped in disillusion” and they created the exhibit, Disillusionment: Perspectives Beyond.
Connie Lee, Landmark East Harlem, President of the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, and Public Art Initiative, December 2014 in front of Richard Webber Harlem Packing House, 207-215 East 119th Street in East Harlem
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) scheduled a public hearing for February 13, 2018, on three buildings in East Harlem ~ and unanimously voted to Landmark all three.
CITICIEN: El Barrio NYC, an exhibit featuring 100 artworks highlighting the historical and present-day impact of the Jones Act, will open at Taller Boricua Gallery on January 12, 2018.
100 Gates Project Celebrating the completion of 50 gates in East Harlem
If you want to see the Gates, be prepared to get up really early or stay up really late. GothamToGo met up with #100Gates past Project Director, Natalie Raben and the Commissioner of NYC SBS, Gregg Bishop early in front of the not-yet-open El Nuevo Caridad, on the corner of Second Avenue and 116th Street, to check out 17 of the 50 Gates that make up the #100GatesProject in El Barrio.