The South End’s historic Villa Victoria housing development will soon have a new cultural center. La CASA: The Center for Arts, Self-Determination and Activism will open to the public this Friday.
With over 26,000 square feet and four stories, La CASA will be the largest cultural center in New England for Latino arts, culture and community empowerment.
The project was spearheaded by Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, a community development non-profit.
“Our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many more generations will have a space to call home, to call La Casa and to come celebrate their culture,” Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO of IBA, said. “This is a space where community-building will happen.”
The space will host concerts, dance performances, film festivals and showcases. They’ll also have exhibits on display throughout the year.
The $33 million project took about two years to build. La CASA incorporates many historical elements from the church that was demolished in its location, including stained glass windows and terracotta tiles.
“When you walk around Villa Victoria, you see elements of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean embedded into this community design and architecture.” Calderón-Rosado said. “So we continue that trend that they started way back in the day.”
Calderón-Rosado says the space will allow IBA to triple the events they hosted last year, with 50 events already planned. They aim to bring in nationally renowned artists and support local artists.
“This is gonna be, really, a game-changer,” she said.
La CASA’s inaugural gallery exhibition is already on display: “Entretelas: Antonio Martorell y sus Amigos” features renowned Puerto Rican artist Antonio Martorell while the building’s entryway mural “Un Futuro en Acción” was done by Boston-based Puerto Rican artist Acóma.
Calderón-Rosado said the building’s design was meant to be open and transparent, with natural lighting right in front of a neighborhood park with glass doors. She hopes it will be a hub for the community now and for future generations of Latino artists and community members.
“We want the community to see or hear that something is happening and they feel engaged and want to come in,” Calderón-Rosado said.
The ribbon-cutting on Friday will be followed by events throughout the weekend including concerts, tours and arts workshops.
