Casa de la Cultura, Art Exhibit in Highlandtown

By Angelo Solera

Founder and Executive Director of Nuestras Raices Inc.

A group exhibition for the inauguration of Nuestras Raices Inc “Casa de la Cultura” gallery space and cultural center will be held in the Highlandtown neighborhood of Baltimore City. Known for its rich latin culture, a gallery space by and for latin artists will be available to amplify artists who have been historically overlooked or without opportunities to showcase their work in the arts community in Baltimore.

This breakthrough event will host five established and mid-career artists who will be displaying works that reflect themes spanning culture, heritage and the human experience. Artist  mediums  range from a colorful selection of mixed media art, textiles, sculptures, paintings, and  photography. Featured artists include Francisco Loza, Christina Delgado, Ignacio Herrera, Mariana Orellana, and Jessy DeSantis.

Francisco Loza is a well established artist originally from Mexico and based in Baltimore. Loza creates original art by working on wood surfaces which he covers in two types of wax that he mixes together and onto which he presses, cuts, shapes brightly colored threads one-by-one into intricate and complex designs. His artwork reflects many themes, including nature,  climate, Mexican traditions, immigration, and the abstract. Viewers of Loza’s artwork are captivated when seeing his artwork that is 3-D in depth.  He also produces unique mixed media art using a combination of estambre (yarn) and chaquira (beaded pieces)

Christina Delgado became a photographer and an artist later in life. Her experience started as a hobby, then became a profession and her reason for wanting to become a teacher early in her career. She has been an educator, a photographer, community advocate, and culture worker for well over 17 years. She is the founder of Tola’s Room, a collective of the arts, community, & education located in NE Baltimore. This space educates and influences using art, culture, and community organizing, while also serving as the only Puerto Rican cultural hub in Baltimore City. She is currently on the Maryland State Arts Council Artist-in-Resident Roster and works with Arts for Learning Maryland as an arts equity advisor, mentor, and teaching artist. Delgado’s work revolves around a sense of self and identity; It displays a passion and pride for identity in family and homeplace and connects ways in which home, place, and family can be sights of pain & trauma but ultimately sights of healing and freedom.

Ignacio Herrera is an accomplished sculptor and painter, born in Coahuila Mexico, August 30 1959, he has been in art spaces since he was 9 years old. Ignacio creates Mexican folk art and has exhibited in universities across Mexico, with Huichol Natives and Loza at Creative Alliance, and exhibited with the Maryland State Arts Council among others. Residing in Baltimore, Ignacio has spent over 10 years evolving his art and creating a legacy for his neighborhood through his artistic murals, carved religious pieces, and commercial art depicting people and settings. Ignacio lives in Upper Fells Point and is a resident artist at the “Galeria de Arte” on South Broadways st.

Mariana Orellana is a 23 year old Salvadoran-American freelance photographer based out of Baltimore. Their passion for digital media and photography began when they were just 13 years old. They fully embraced photography at 17 with a passion for portrait and event photography such as weddings, concerts and festivals. They experiment with other styles of photography including a focus on landscapes. Orellana has a strong connection to her homeland of El Salvador and Latin America where they have captured the spirit of people and places. They strive to capture people encapsulating their essence and beauty into film.

Jessy DeSantis was raised in a Nicaraguan household in Miami, FL and now resides in Baltimore City. DeSantis is a self-taught artist creating meaningful, vibrant work. Their painting’s stark contrast of vibrant color and white space draws the viewer into their subjects. They are inspired by their connection to nature, food, family, and their Central American roots. Their paintings, often depicting birds, are more than just visually beautiful, many carry in them intention with a story to be told. They seek to pass on these stories of heritage and truth with all of its complexities to their children and future generations. The artist states that as they grow and evolve through life, that their art will evolve and shift with them.

About the event:

ALL are invited to a historic event for the city of Baltimore and the Hispanic/Latino community,

La Casa de la Cultura will be a Hispanic/Latino cultural, educational, and empowering center in the heart of Highlandtown in Baltimore City.

La Casa de la Cultura will be a place where we can educate, promote and preserve the richness and diversity of the Hispanic/Latino culture and artistic heritage through the Baltimore and DMV metropolitan region.

The event will take place Saturday, August 13, 2022  2:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Location: 3403 Gough St.Baltimore. Md. 21224

Next to Salem United Methodist Church.

We will have special invited guests including community and political leaders, businesses and sponsors, community and cultural groups and organizations, cultural performances, food, arts and crafts and much more; including the musical performance of Downtown Tumbao, a Afro-Caribbean group playing borderlands Jazz, Bolero, Samba, Cha cha chá, Guaracha and Son.

Following opening day, the exhibition will be available by appointment through August 27th, 2022. Please Contact Angelo Solera to set up an appointment at (443) 224-7592