The Clemente Cultural Center Responds to Hate with First Annual Fearless Series

As hate crimes continue to plague our country, and marginalized groups struggle to find sanctuary, The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Educational Center, Inc. (The Clemente) has invited six LGBTQ artists/art organizations of Latino/Muslim/minority backgrounds to create work connected by the theme of understanding and unity. These performances will be spread throughout the 2017-18 season.

Beginning September 29th, insightful and moving stories from the LGBTQ community, including the tortured relationship between a single gay father and his son, a disco and its denizens, and a group of women struggling to find role models, will be presented.

This fall, The Clemente is pleased to present new works by Tjasa Ferme, a versatile theater and film actress, Indio Melendez, a Nuyorican actor, writer, poet, educator and visual artist, and Migguel Anggelo, a Venezuelan-born, Brooklyn-based singer, songwriter, dancer, and performer. Spring artists include Ballez, a dance company that celebrates the history and performances of lesbian, queer, and transgender people, and Spicy Witch Productions, an all female theater collective.

While the participants in Fearless represent a broad range of disciplines, they all share common aspirations: to inspire artists to cherish their identities and heritage, to champion LGBTQ artists especially in fields where they are still marginalized, and to touch the hearts and minds of the general public, most of whom have little access to these arts, through works that underscore our collective humanity and our shared aspirations for a just and creatively fulfilling world. Select events will include a talkback/Q&A with audience and community members.

Executive Director Anita Romero Warren says "The Clemente is proud to provide a venue and support to these artists to fully dedicate themselves to the creation of their own artistic work, while contributing to an intercultural exchange among a supportive community of artists in Manhattan's culturally and artistically vibrant Lower East Side."

The Clemente Soto V�lez Cultural Center (CSV) was founded in the name of the Puerto Rican poet after he died in 1993. The building, which already housed the Solidaridad Humana (an education and human services program) plus the Teatro La Tea (a Latino performing arts theater) was originally another elementary school (PS 160) designed by Charles B. J. Snyder in 1897.

The mission of The Clemente Soto V�lez Cultural and Educational Center has always been to maintain a facility for underserved and under-represented artists and organizations with support from the City of New York. Fearless manifests their commitment to the diversity and artistic excellence of the community they serve, nurturing openness, engagement and social harmony, especially in these trying times.

The Fearless Series presented by The Clemente Cultural Center: September 2017-April 2018

The Clemente Cultural Center, Flamboyan Theater, 107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002 (btw Rivington & Delancey). Tickets: $15, with a reduced rate of $12 when buying 10 or more tickets. Purchase in advance at www.clemente-fearless-series.eventbrite.com or at the box office on day of performance.

For additional information, call 212-260-4080 or visit www.theclementecenter.org