31 Latinx Arts Leaders Selected For NALAC Leadership Institute In San Antonio

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) announces the selection of 31 Latinx artists and cultural workers who will participate in the NALAC Leadership Institute taking place July 15-20, 2019, in San Antonio, TX. In its 19th edition, the annual arts management program focuses on building the capacity of arts professionals through the lens of Latinx arts and cultures.

This year's cohort includes leaders from 15 states, with Maine being represented for the first time. Notably, there are 2 fellows from Puerto Rico, building on the organization's work supporting artists on the island post-Hurricane Maria through its NALAC Fund for the Arts grant program. The list of participants is below and their bios can be found online.

The weeklong institute will culminate with a keynote presented by Gonzalo Casals, Executive Director of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City. Casals has previously worked at Friends of the High Line and was part of the consultant team that led CreateNYC, New York City's first comprehensive cultural plan. The keynote will take place Saturday, July 20, 2019 at the University of Texas at San Antonio Downtown Campus and is open to the public. Attendees can RSVP here: https://nli19.eventbrite.com

This year at the New York City Pride march, the Leslie-Lohman Museum collaborated with artist Gabriel Garcia Román who presented a procession of 150 banners featuring queer people of color from his series "Queer Icons." Garcia Román received a NALAC Fund for the Arts grant in 2017 to help support the national expansion of his project.

"The voices and experiences of queer Latinx arts leaders have been at the heart of the NALAC Leadership Institute since its inauguration 19 years ago. We look forward to Gonzalo Casals' Keynote and learning from his work on cultural equity and progressive public policy issues," said NALAC President and CEO María López de León.

The NALAC Leadership Institute will be hosted at the University of Texas at San Antonio's Downtown Campus and includes a tour with institute alumni at the creative youth development outfit SAY Sí, a visit to the groundbreaking "Transamerica/n" exhibition at the McNay Art Museum, and a community gathering with Latinx arts leaders at Galería E.V.A. (Ecos y Voces de Arte).

Sessions at the institute will be led by the faculty team composed of Rosalba Rolón from New York's Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Abel López from D.C.'s Gala Theatre, and Dr. Maribel Alvarez of The University of Arizona's School of Anthropology and the Southwest Folklife Alliance. Guest faculty include scholar Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto, artist Claudio Dicochea, arts consultant Evonne Gallardo, writer Charles Rice-González and development expert Arnaldo López.

"What distinguishes NLI from other professional development programs is that we value each fellow's contributions and deep knowledge of community, providing a space to exchange resources and expertise within a peer-to-peer network," said Jenna Gonzales, NALAC Programs Manager.

2019 NALAC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE FELLOWS

Christian Adame, Portland Museum of Art (Portland, ME)
francisco aviles pino jr., Brave New Films (Anaheim, CA)
Ivonne Rosa Batanero, Greedy Pumpkin Head Projects (Miami, FL)
Patsy Diaz, Chicago Park District (Chicago, IL)
William Estrada, Chicago ACT Collective (Cicero, IL)
Estefanía Fadul, Stage Director & Producer (Brooklyn, NY)
Tracy Fenix, Culture Pass (Brooklyn, NY)
Danny Flores Anguiano, Palmetto Luna Arts (Columbia, SC)
Galileo Jose Gonzalez, Visual Artist (San Antonio, TX)
Annabel Guevara, Theatre Communications Group (New York, NY)
Angelina Gurule, Su Teatro (Denver, CO)
Niurca Marquez, Choreographer, Artist-Researcher (Miami, FL)
Arlene Mejorado, Las Fotos Project (Los Angeles, CA)
Palén Obesa, Coronado Print Studio (Bronx, NY)
Liset Puentes, Milagro (Portland, OR)
Elisa Lucía García Radcliffe, Arizona Commission on the Arts (Phoenix, AZ)
Cenorina Ramirez, Children After School Arts (Oakland, CA)
Fátima Ramirez, Acción Latina (San Francisco, CA)
Isha Mary Renta López, Semilla Cultural (Fredericksburg, VA)
Adriana Rios, NALAC (San Antonio, TX)
Ismanuel Rodriguez Soto, Tantai Teatro PR (San Juan, PR)
Josue Esau, SAY Sí (San Antonio, TX)
Nelda Liliana Ruiz Calles, Southwest Folklife Alliance (Tucson, AZ)
Annie Y. Saldaña Matías, PRISMA Art Projects (Carolina, PR)
Mark Salinas, Dept. of Arts & Culture (Carson City, NV)
Jenea Sanchez, Border Arts Corridor (Douglas, AZ)
Paula Sanchez-Kucukozer, SonJarocho.Mx (Bayside, NY)
Rene Soto Villagran, Rene Soto Gallery (Stamford, CT)
Bernardo Vallarino, Fort Worth Art Collective (Fort Worth, TX)
Mav Vasquez, Motor City Street Dance Academy (Detroit, MI)
Miranda Ynez Rivera, Self Help Graphics & Art (Los Angeles, CA)

Read bios for each of the participants online.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LATINO ARTS AND CULTURES

The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) is the nation's premier nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to the promotion, advancement, development, and cultivation of the Latino arts field. In this capacity, NALAC stimulates and facilitates intergenerational dialogues among disciplines, languages, and traditional and contemporary expressions.

For more information about NALAC and its programs please visit www.nalac.org.

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