On your next jaunt to New York City, make sure to swing by one of Spanish Harlem’s hidden treasures, El Museo Del Barrio, located at the northern edge of Manhattan’s Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue in between 104th and 105th streets. The museum, which overlooks Central Park, first opened its doors in 1969; since then, it has provided the city with a wealth of Latin America, Caribbean and Latino art.
After a tour of Museum Mile, get some respite from NYC’s sweltering summers with a dip into El Museo’s exquisite exhibitions on Latino art. We’ve got the details on their three new summer exhibits — read all about them below:
RODRIGUEZ CALERO: Urban Martyrs and Latter-Day Santos:
The second exhibition in a series of five women-artists retrospectives at the museum, Urban Martyrs and Latter-Day Santos celebrates the work of Puerto Rican-born, New York-raised Rodriguez Calero, sometimes known as RoCA.
Through a unique blend of painting, collage, photography and a self-created technique called “acrollage”, RoCa expertly juxtaposes hip hop and urban culture with Renaissance and religious motifs for a completely brilliant collection that spans 30 years of her work.
This exhibit explores the history and legacy of the Young Lords in El Barrio, East Harlem. Paintings and political prints from El Museo’s permanent collection join works by Coco Lopez, JC Lenochan, Miguel Uciano and Shelleyne Rodriguez. The exhibition mixes photographs, posters and more to tell the history of the Young Lords, beginning with the Garbage Offensive of 1969, an effort to force New York City politicians to pick up garbage in the overlooked, underserved Spanish Harlem neighborhood.
CUT N’ MIX: Contemporary Collage:
The exhibition complements the work of RoCA by exploring the art of collage. Don’t be fooled: these works have little in common with the collages of your youth. Dozens of young Latino artists contributed their distinctive approaches to “collage” — everything from layered GIF to plastic to wood.
El Museo del Barrio is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm. They suggest a $9 donation for adults and $5 for students and seniors. Get more information at the official website.
By Cristina Arreola [Latina]