2025
Corpórea
Fall 2025
Corpórea, a powerful art exhibit that explored the themes of healing, identity, and community through the lens of the human body. The exhibit celebrated the creative work and stories of La Casita’s community, positioning art and self expression as tools for wellness and empowerment. Corpórea featured 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 online digital catalog here.
2024
WEIRD Barrio
Fall 2024
Weird Barrio presented the work of Syracuse artist Manuel Matías. The exhibition depicted the Latino barrio experience in intricate detail, a testament to the power of storytelling and visual representation in shaping collective identity and fostering a sense of 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 works of Cayetano Valenzuela, a Syracuse based artist and storyteller whose work reflects Latino culture, technology, and imagination to instill creativity, resilience, and empowerment in La Casita’s youth. Also featured is Zeke Peña, a Chicano storyteller and cartoonist. His work encompassed political cartoons and hip-hop culture other than addressing topics of identity, politics, ecology, and social justice.
View the online digital catalog 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. Their work was inspired by dolls and toys . The concept allowed for La Casita 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 recognized the celebration of the true heart of the Barrio, its people. The exhibition featured hundreds of photographs and videos to come together to form an intricate installation that represented a myriad of shared memories that happened throughout the past decade. The installation represented the rich cultural heritage that draws both the community and college students to each year.
2020
Abuelas (Grandmothers)
September 15, 2020-March 2021
Abuelas (Grandmothers) highlighted the impact abuelas have on their families. Featuring works byJuan Juarez, Juan Cruz, Bennie Guzman, Peggy Robles-Alvardo, andDaisy Arroyo; the exhibition shows a collection of shared photographs, videos, poetry, and shared narratives depicting family stories about abuelas.
View the online digital catalog here.
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, photographs, and dance performances. The exhibition featured more than 60 pieces that fostered round-table discussions, intercultural communication, and understanding through dialogue.
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, Roberto Luis Pérez, Dalgis Viera Alarcón, and Sannly Viera.
View the online digital 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 the online digital catalog here.
2016
Blades for Art
January 23-February 19, 2016
Blades for Art was created to raise awareness about the street violence that impacts the lives of residents and families within Syracuse’s inner city neighborhoods. The exhibition included large-scale, hand-carved woodblocks that were pressed by an industrial steamroller and made into finely rolled relief prints on white cotton muslin. Blades for Art integrated the participation of community members, local youths, and Syracuse University students from the Printmaking Program.
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 the onling digital catalog here.
Balcón Criollo: Familia
Fall 2016
Balcón Criollo: Familia showcased a collection of nearly 100 community-sourced photographs and meaningful pieces. This exhibition served as a tribute to Latino family traditions, values, and history. This project was organized and curated by Luz Encarnación.
View the online digital catalog here.
2015
Balcón Criollo: Béisbol
September 15-December 11, 2015
Balcón Criollo: Béisbol explored the vital role of the national pastime, baseball, in Latino culture. The exhibit was inspired by the work of Pepón Osorio, a Puerto Rican artist, that included baseball memorabilia and a significant collection of photographs and videos that related the experiences of everyday heroes within the community. This project was documented and curated by La Casita’s team of collaborators: Luz Encarnación and
Marilú López Fretts.
View the online digital catalog 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 artist Juan Cruz reflected on his own discontent on what he described as a futile attempt to communicate something, constantly seeking and not finding a more far-reaching meaning in his work. The exhibition features Juan Cruz’s works that have been sliced and recomposed into new pieces where his old artwork and new work.
View the online digital calendar here.
Viva el Teatro
February 2015
Viva el Teatro celebrated its 15th anniversary with an exhibition at La Casita. The gallery space was 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 Family
September 19-December 12, 2014
Balcón Criollo: Veterans & Military Family 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 around the vision of the artist, but of all, the vision of a Cuban who is 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.