On September 5, 2024, artist Edra Soto will unveil a new sculpture from her Graft series (2013–present), crafted from corten steel and terrazzo in Central Park. This piece is inspired by the wrought-iron fencing commonly found outside homes in Puerto Rico and is described by Soto as “a monument to working-class Puerto Rican communities.” The unveiling is presented in partnership with the Public Art Fund to mark the first phase of Historias, a comprehensive three-year arts and cultural initiative focusing on Latine narratives throughout New York City, led by the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center in the Lower East Side.

“It is up to us to archive our histories to preserve them and share them with future generations,” Soto stated in an email to Hyperallergic. “We know what is important about us more than anyone else.” Born and raised in San Juan, Soto is adept at this storytelling practice, linking her homeland to her current life in Chicago.

This fall, the citywide Historias project will feature diverse cultural programming, research initiatives, art commissions, and oral history presentations. These aim to provide a more comprehensive and intersectional perspective on New York’s expanding and diversifying Latinx population. A collaborative effort with the LxNY Consortium, which includes 45 arts and cultural organizations, the $2.5 million project is supported by a grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Libertad Guerra, executive director of the Clemente since 2020, noted that advocacy groups like the Cultural Equity Coalition of New York City and LxNY have increased support for expanding Latine representation in the city’s public arts and culture programming. However, she emphasized that “funding inequities persist,” highlighting that programs for communities of color “are rarely expanded and are often among the first to face cuts.”

Historias will officially launch on the last weekend of September with an art-filled block party on Suffolk Street outside the Clemente, which is currently undergoing significant renovations that have limited access to many of its facilities, including exhibition galleries and artist studios. The cultural center will also host the 27th edition of its Open Studios during the same weekend as the Historias launch event. Those who are interested, please visit the Clemente’s website where a full lineup will be released next month.

“To have a multiyear platform dedicated to building a record of Latinx perspectives through various forms of engagement is remarkable,” Soto said. “I greatly admire and respect the Latinx community’s commitment to culture in New York City,” she added. “It is palpable and like no other … like a perpetual celebration.”

Sayart / Sims green sims010@naver.com