Latino Arts
1028 S. 9th StreetMilwaukeeWI53204
414-384-3100414-649-4411

Program: Cultural Arts Classes Year Started: 1985 Focus: Multidisciplinary Arts Youth Served: 120 Ages: 7-14 Budget: $15,000 Latino Arts is an outgrowth of a single Hispanic folk dance class initiated by a local dance instructor and held at the United Community Center. The class sparked an interest in developing courses in a variety of Latino art forms and led to the formation of Latino Arts, which continues to be housed in the Community Center and is Milwaukee's only Hispanic arts organization. The after-school and summer programs meet 2 hours daily in 12-week sessions to explore dance, visual arts, music and drama and are complemented by the CenterĖs Decision for Youth program, which offers conflict resolution and peer counseling. Dance and drama students share their culture through city-wide performances. In the summer, participants work with professional artists from the Milwaukee area. Past collaborations resulted in mask-making classes, a puppet theater and a multimedia oral history project."We continue to get more Hispanic artists collaborating with us and leading new workshops," says Cultural Arts Coordinator Jennifer La Porte. "It's helping create a safe haven for kids experiencing the isolation and confusion of immigration and poverty." Latino Arts provides specialized services to meet particular needs. Latina women and girls in the community display their artwork through a Celebration of Milwaukee's Latino Artists program in partnership with the Department of City Development. This kind of programming is helping the Latino community value its own culture and adjust to a new home.