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Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center
107 Suffolk Street
New York, NY 10002
Tel: (212) 260-4080
http://csvcenter.com
Contact
Luis Cancel, Executive Director
Luis@mindspring.com
Hours open to the public
Art Gallery: Monday-Thursday, 4:00–10:00 p.m.
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Named after the respected Puerto Rican poet, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (CSV) was created to nurture and aid in the development of the Puerto Rican and Latino arts in the Lower East Side.
CSV was founded in 1993 by Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Nelson Landrieu, and Mateo Gómez. At the time, Teatro La Tea, established by Landrieu and Gómez, was the only functioning theater in the building that now houses CSV. Less than a year later, after much hard work and payment of an outstanding debt of over $30,000, the devoted trio acquired the lease to the city-owned building, on 107 Suffolk Street from Solidaridad Humana, a community-based education and human services organization.
CSV is located at 107 Suffolk Street, between Rivington and Delancey Streets; it is the foremost architectural landmark in that part of the Lower East Side still known as Loisaida. The Dutch Neo-Gothic building is a former public school (PS 160) constructed in 1898 by the Board of Education of the City of New York. By the mid-seventies the building had ceased to serve as a public school. From 1984 to 1990 it housed Solidaridad Humana, a revolutionary community-based education program that was comprehensive and bilingual.
As with most Latino arts centers and organizations throughout the country, CSV has struggled against many odds to keep its doors open. Lack of funding, benefactors, or patrons to support Latino arts programs present hardships. Nevertheless, the space is steadily being improved with the intention of making CSV a focus of Latino art and culture in New York City.
Currently CSV houses twelve resident companies and fifty-three individual artists, of which one-third are Latino / Hispanic.
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The archival records of CSV are mostly self-generated. They include the organization's operation records, which are comprised mainly of occupancy agreements and documents regarding the building's operations and maintenance. CSV also holds one linear foot of artist files regarding its resident artists.
There is no formal archival policy in place. CSV keeps application materials sent by artists soliciting studio space. These materials include artists' letters of interest, press on solo or group exhibitions, and resumes. Promotional materials on exhibitions and cultural events held at CSV are mostly limited to emails and flyers.
CSV can mediate the access to the archival records of resident companies.
Overall holdings of archives and research material:
Thirty-five linear feet
Overall holdings of archives and research material on Latino art:
Thirty-two linear feet
Inclusive dates of files: 1984–2005
Bulk dates: 1993–2005
Languages in which records are written:
English
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Archives of institution's history and operation related to Latino art:
Thirty-one linear feet
CSV keeps information such as occupancy agreements, donation information, bills, checks, brochures, and some artist file materials.
Archives of manuscripts of other institutions related to Latino art:
The main office of CSV holds solely records on their operations. However, most of the resident companies in the CSV building, including Teatro La TEA and SEA hold their own archival records. The contact information for the resident companies can be found on the CSV website.
Digital images:
Twenty-two items
The organization has digital images documenting the work of many of its resident artists. These images will soon be made accessible through CSV's website.
Exhibition catalogues published in-house that include work by Latino artists:
CSV has not published any catalogues, but flyers and postcards are printed for most of the exhibitions they organize.
Films by or about Latinos:
CSV does not actively collect films, although there are some in its archive. Some Latino film companies like Cine Huracán and MoxieFilms, and independent filmmakers including Vlamyr Vizcaya, Luis Castro, and Isabel Bigalow hold studios at CSV. The organization can facilitate contact with these artists and companies in order for researchers to have access to their productions and archival materials.
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Vertical file materials related to Latino art: artist files, brochures, pamphlets, clippings:
One linear foot
Artist files document the resident artists at CSV. They include materials on Sira Ayensa, Natalia Campos, Luis Castro, Anibal Cicardi, Silvio de la Cruz, Rafael Mendez, Freddie Molina, Miguel Trelles, and Rafael Tufiño, among others. Files are created as an artist becomes a tenant of the Center and are updated as he or she builds a base exhibition portfolio.
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There are no finding aids to the CSV archives.
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Currently there is no space designated for researchers, but there is a conference table that can be made available when it is not being used by the staff.
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Archival records are accessible by appointment only.
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For more than a decade, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center has served as an important incubator for the arts in the Lower East Side. It has provided workshop and exhibition space for numerous Puerto Rican and Latino artists, as well as to artists of other cultural backgrounds. The archival holdings that are of interest to researchers are currently limited. Nonetheless, CSV is starting to develop an archive in the hopes of documenting the artists who hold working space there.
Relations to other Latino and Latin American organizations:
Currently CSV houses twelve resident dance, theater, film, and performance companies. These include:
La Tea (Latin American Theater Experimental & Associates) Theater Company is the oldest resident theater at CSV. Founded in 1982, La Tea is committed to nurturing and promoting Latin American literature, music, and visual art.
SEA Society of the Educational Arts, Inc./Sociedad Educativa de las Artes, Inc. was founded in 1985 in Puerto Rico, and has been operating in New York since 1993. SEA is a not-for-profit Hispanic/Bilingual Arts-in-Education Organization dedicated to the empowerment and educational advancement of children and young adults.
Latino Experimental Fantastic Theater (L.E.F.T) was founded in 1994, to strengthen and develop social and cultural awareness of Latinos in New York City. L.E.F.T. addresses social and economic issues affecting the health and general well being of New York City's Latino population.
HOLA Hispanic Organization for Latin Actors is a Hispanic arts service organization committed to exploring and expanding available avenues for projecting Hispanic artists and their culture into the mainstream of the Anglo-American industry, culture, and society.
Moxie Films Founded in 1995, Moxie Films is a New York City-based organization, which includes the brands MoxieDocs, MoxieStage, and the New Century Writer Awards.
Mark DeGarmo Dancers/Dynamic Forms, Inc. was founded in New York City in 1982 by choreographer, dancer, arts educator, and artistic director Mark DeGarmo and incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1987.
Afro Brazil Arts (ABA)/Capoeira Angola Palmares Academy, a non-profit organization founded in 1991, expands the circle of people who express themselves through art with capoeira instruction, performance, and the production and distribution of educational material.
Féraba is an African dance and percussion ensemble. The members of Féraba originally came from Austria, Japan, the United States, and West Africa and brought their diverse cultural backgrounds with them to this growing eclectic company.
Future, USA, an international organization dedicated to protecting the rights of children and helping to overcome the scourge of violence through music, is working alongside through music, is working alongside CSV to develop the first "Loisaida Boys and Girls Choir."
SHUL of New York, The Children's School has three religious education programs for girls and boys.
Spanic Attack is a conglomeration of multidisciplinary Latin American artists based in NYC and dedicated to promoting, producing and networking alternative and emerging art in New York and abroad.
In addition, CSV has served as a venue for the Latin American Dance Festival and exhibitions from Organization of Puerto Rican Artists (O.P. Art).
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