History

The Center for Latino Arts and Culture was established in 1992 by a committee of Latino faculty, staff, and students from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The Center is housed in a ca. 1910 two-story American Foursquare house-style on the main campus in New Brunswick. The Center reports to the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.

In 1996, the Center for Latino Arts and Culture and the Middlesex County Cultural Heritage Commission were awarded the New Jersey Exemplary State and Local Award in recognition of significant achievement for developing a cultural plan for the Latino community.

The CLAC has researched and produced over thirty exhibitions and catalogues. Several of the exhibitions traveled to international venues and received positive reviews in the New York Times as well as in local and national papers.

In 2004, the CLAC developed Transcultural New Jersey , a registry and archives of contemporary artists that provides technical assistance and professional opportunities for Latino artists statewide.

Over the years, the CLAC has collaborated with a number of Rutgers faculty to develop courses that focus on Latino arts and culture, including study abroad courses in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and more recently Costa Rica.

Funding for the Center is provided by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Additional funding has been provided through grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, NJ State Council on the Humanities, NJ State Council on the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, Hitachi America, Merrill Lynch, and Merck.