Dominican Foundation CULTURARTE of New York The Power of Culture is of everyone History and Mission History The Dominican Foundation Culturarte of New York was founded in June 20th, 2001 under the guidance of Dr. Jorge Piña, a psychotherapist and poet and with visual artist and poet, Karina Rieke. The organization believes that participation and education in the arts helps create mature, emotionally and intellectually well-rounded individuals. The Center’s School of the Arts offers weekly classes and seminars on music, dance, theater, painting, film, photography, poetry, creative writing, journalism and literature. Through participation in classes and performance groups, students learn discipline and healthy self-expression. Our students, adults and young people, use the skills and talents developed in arts training as an artistic alternative to the prevention of violence, drug abuse, low-educational attainment levels, poverty and other issues that plague our community. Culturarte’s goal is to create a well-educated, healthy, and creative community. Culturarte employs three full-time staff people, 20 part-time instructors, 10 volunteers, and six board members. All teaching staff are highly qualified, practicing artists who are not only instructors but also professional mentors to their students. Located in the heart of Washington Heights, Culturarte serves members of the over 400,000-immigrant community from South and Central America and the Caribbean. Providing artistic educational services keeps participants in touch with their heritage, while acting as a bridge to the culture and environment of the United States and New York City. For first-and second-generation members of the community, the ills of the inner-city often supplant the values of their native culture. Culturarte’s programming seeks to maintain students’ bonds to their background, while providing a safe, nurturing environment for families and young people between the hours of 3 and 7 p.m. where they can learn to resolve conflicts and use disciplined, artistic means of expression to prevent lapsing into persistent mental health and social problems. Mission Statement To promote and preserve the Hispanic and Afro-Caribbean heritage through the arts To create a multicultural, multidisciplinary arts center for the development of talent and tolerance To use the arts to administer to the social concerns and problems of the Hispanic community