2025
Corpórea
Fall 2025
Corpórea culminated the work of Syracuse Latino artists and community members who participated in La Casita’s healing arts workshop, Art as Mindfulness, led by artist Bennie Guzman, at the time, a graduate student working towards a master’s degree in Creative Art Therapy at Syracuse University. The work explored the themes of healing, identity, and community through the lens of the human body, positioning art and self-expression as tools for wellness and empowerment. Corpórea featured collective and individual original work in mixed media and installation, centering the human body as a canvas of memory, resilience, and transformation where creative expression is seen not only as a source of beauty but as a critical tool for well-being.
View the exhibit catalog here.
2024
WEIRD Barrio
Fall 2024
Weird Barrio presented the work of Syracuse-based Puerto Rican artist Manuel Matías. The exhibition depicted the Latino barrio experience in intricate detail through miniature 3-dimensional works and installations, underscoring the power of storytelling and visual representation to shape collective identity and foster belonging within marginalized communities. Weird Barrio depicted familiar settings, Westside neighborhood streets, community buildings, home environments, and conceptual representations of a unique and distinctive character.
2023
Futurismo Latino
Fall 2023
Futurismo Latino sought to reconfigure a vision of the future where Latino/Chicano culture is in flux and centered in the story of the far future. The exhibit featured the work of Cayetano Valenzuela, a Syracuse-based Chicano artist and storyteller whose work reflects Latino culture, technology, and imagination, instilling creativity, resilience, and empowerment. Also featured was the work of Chicano storyteller and cartoonist Zeke Peña. His work encompassed political cartoons and representations of hip-hop culture, addressing topics of identity, politics, ecology, and social justice.
More details about the exhibit here.
2022
One Upon a Time: A Toy Show
Fall 2022
Once Upon a Time: A Toy Show presented work by Latin American and U.S. artists, alongside an extensive installation of loaned collection dolls. Original artist works inspired by dolls and toys served to transform the gallery space into an interactive playground. The exhibition featured work by Matías Roth, Dashel Hernández and Rochele Royster, a collaborative piece by Liliana Porter and Ana Tiscornia; and a 9-foot mural by Abisay Puentes. Toys are a testimony not only of human creativity but also of intercultural connections across generations that tap into memories associated with our childhood and personal stories.
2021
Corazón del Barrio: 10th Anniversary Exhibition
September 18, 2021-April 2022
Corazón del Barrio: 10th Anniversary Exhibition commemorated La Casita’s 10th anniversary and celebrated the true heart of the Barrio, its people. The exhibition featured hundreds of photographs and videos in an intricate installation that represented a myriad of shared memories from the first decade of La Casita. The installation represented the rich cultural heritage that draws both the local community and academic communities to La Casita each year.
2020
Abuelas (Grandmothers)
September 15, 2020-March 2021
Abuelas (Grandmothers) highlighted the impact abuelas have on their families. Featuring works by Juan Juarez, Juan Cruz, Bennie Guzman, Peggy Robles-Alvardo, and Daisy Arroyo, the exhibition also showcased a collection of shared photographs, videos, poetry, and shared narratives depicting family stories about abuelas.
View the children’s book, Abuelitas, inspired by the Abuelas project, written and illustrated by La Casita’s youth participating in dual language literacy programs.
2019
Pa’ la Calle
Fall 2019
Pa’ la Calle celebrated urban culture, life in the barrios, street art, and graffiti all through a series of paintings, photography, and dance performances. The exhibition featured work by artist Bennie Guzman with more than 60 pieces that fostered round-table discussions, intercultural communication, and understanding through dialogue.
View exhibition catalog here.
2018
Cuba
September 14-March 29, 2018
The Cuba exhibit featured a collection of paintings, photography, videos, memorabilia, and cultural relics that highlighted life in Cuba and the refugee experience within the Syracuse community through both visual and personal narratives. The exhibition featured the work of six Cuban Syracuse-based artists and scholars: Richell Castellón, Dashel Hernández, Danisley Pérez Bravo, Dalgis Viera Alarcón, and Sanlly Viera.
View the exhibition catalog here.
2017
Fusión Caribe: A History of Latin Music
September 15-October 15, 2017
Fusión Caribe: The History of Music presented historic photos and videos depicting the history of Latin Music from its Caribbean roots to the artists that propelled it around the globe. The event featured live music and dance as well as classic recordings of son montuno, guaracha, guaguancó, cha cha chá, mambo, bolero, merengue, bomba & plena, reguetón, and salsa. Live music was performed by Charlie Izzo and his salsa orchestra, El Rumbón, Sammy Avila and his Tríos Los Amigos, and Roberto Perez from La Familia de la Salsa.
View exhibition catalog here.
2016
Blades for Art
January 23-February 19, 2016
Blades for Art | Navajas para el arte was the culmination of a printmaking workshop integrating the participation of Syracuse University art students and local youths, developed to raise awareness about the street violence that impacts the lives of residents and families within Syracuse’s inner-city neighborhoods. A series of 7′ x 4′ ft hand-carved woodblocks were pressed by an industrial steamroller on the Syracuse University campus and made into finely rolled relief prints on white cotton muslin.
Between Us | Entre Nos
March 4-April 22, 2016
Between Us, Entre Nos, a three-part installation and a performance by artist Alexis Disselkoen. The exhibition featured a flower-covered wall that loomed over the room as coffee-soaked sheets of paper covered the floor where guests were encouraged to move through the space and leave behind a footprint. Between Us, Entre Nos worked to produce an experience that is directed by the spectator by allowing them to participate in the creation of the work.
View exhibition catalog here.
Balcón Criollo: Familia
Fall 2016
Balcón Criollo: Familia showcased a collection of nearly 100 community-sourced photographs, memorabilia, and family heirlooms. This exhibition served as a tribute to Latino family traditions, values, and history. The project was organized and curated by Luz Encarnación.
View the online digital catalog here.
2015
Béisbol at the Heart of our Latino Communities
September 15-December 11, 2015
“Béisbol” at the Heart of our Latino Communities
La Casita, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, developed a series of exhibits, collections, programming, education, and cultural heritage research initiatives through this multi-year program that took place between 2014 and 2021. The project explored the impact of the national pastime on Latino communities across Central New York through the history of baseball. The exhibition at La Casita featured community-sourced memorabilia and historic photos, as well as photography and video documentation by Marilú López Fretts. Partners in the project included the National Museum, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and 24 partner institutions and cultural organizations nationwide.
View La Casita’s project catalog here.
More about this community collecting and research initiative here.
Juan A. Cruz, None of That | Nada de Eso
March 5, 2015
None of That/Nada de Eso explored discontent and the search for meaning. Syracuse-based Puerto Rican artist Juan Cruz reflected on his own discontent with what he described as a futile attempt to communicate something, constantly seeking and not finding more far-reaching meaning in his work. The exhibition featured Cruz’s works from a wide-ranging timeline in his extensive career, many of which the artist had sliced and recomposed into new pieces.
View exhibition catalog here.
Viva el Teatro
February 2015
Viva el Teatro celebrated La Joven Guardia del Teatro Latino in its 15th anniversary. La Casita’s gallery and programming spaces were completely filled with La Joven Guardia’s collection of memorabilia, photos, hand-crafted props, and costumes that documented its award-winning 15-year trajectory.
2014
Balcón Criollo: Veterans & Military Families
September 19-December 12, 2014
Balcón Criollo: Veterans & Military Families paid special tribute to Hispanics in the United States Armed Forces and military families within the local Syracuse communities.
View the online digital catalog here.
Abisay Puentes: Brumas
March 21-April 28, 2014
Brumas explored universal questions of human existence through the artist’s own reimagined myth. Centered around an aged Adam and Eve, artist Abisay Puentes crafted a malleable parable set within a theatrical world of illusion, the brumas, which veil a deeper, concealed truth.
View the online digital catalog here.
Portales
February 6-March 14, 2014
Portales explored the reflection of urban landscapes from the perspective of Cuban architect and photographer Danisley Pérez Bravo. The exhibition featured a photography installation that focused on the vision of the Cuban born artist, now a resident of Central New York.
2013
Balcón Criollo: Opening
September 20-December 19, 2013
Balcón Criollo: Opening featured a gallery-wide installation of meaningful artifacts showcasing the community’s most cherished memories, their countries of origin and family histories. This event was co-hosted by local residents who shared their own personal stories.
West Side Through My Eyes
February 6-April 10, 2013
West Side Through My Eyes was a Creative Corner Program at La Casita, a multi-modal artistic space where children and youth explored diverse forms and processes of art-making. The exhibit showcased work produced through a Teen Photography Workshop series, part of the 2013 Reducing Teen Violence Initiative on the Westside.
2012
Angels on the Border
Fall 2012
Angels on the Border highlighted religious paintingscommissioned by Mexican immigrants from 1912 to 1996. The artwork portrayed the blessings of the Virgin Mary and the Trinity’s protection of immigrants in their struggles across the border. The exhibition was curated by the Mexican Migration Project, co-directed by Jorge Durand and Douglas S. Massey. It was also presented as part of the 2012 Ray Smith Symposium: “Moving Borders: The Culture and Politics of Displacement in and from Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The Photographer as a Child: Memories of Guatemala: Efren Lopez
January 27-May 10, 2012
The Photographer as a Child: Memories of Guatemala featured a captivating visual memoir through the stunning work of award-winning photographer Efrén López.
2011
Motifs, Evocations
August 5-September 18, 2011
Motifs, Evocations featured paintings by artists:Angela Arrey, Juan Cruz, Ricardo Esparza, Oscar Garcés, Abisay Puentes, and Esperanza Tielbaard. These artists came together to form La Casita’s associated fine arts group.