Feel Good Friday - Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

Today is the first day of National Hispanic Heritage Month and we’re kicking it off by celebrating a longstanding Bay Area organization, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.

Located in the Mission District of San Francisco, California, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) was established in 1977 “by artists and community activists with a shared vision to promote, preserve and develop the Latino cultural arts that reflect the living tradition and experiences of the Chicano, Central and South American, and Caribbean people.” 

MCCLA is the largest Latino cultural center in the continental United States. For the last 45 years they have been developing, promoting and preserving the Latino Cultural values through the arts. Each week, instructors at MCCLA teach over 35 classes in multiple artistic disciplines. You can learn Afro Peruvian dance, screen printing on paper and textiles, or Brazilian carnival drumming! Low cost and free art education programs are also offered for both adults and children.

In addition to all the classes, Latinx artists living and working in San Francisco can apply for the Reimagining Art In Community Education Spaces Fellowship. Each year four artists are chosen and hosted by four Latinx led art and culture organizations in the city. During the twelve month fellowship the artists are required to develop a community informed art project in their discipline. The program culminates in a public presentation.

If you live in, or are visiting, San Francisco, you can take a tour of MCCLA, stop by one of the National Hispanic Heritage Month events or rent space for your own event! No matter where you live, you can support MCCLA in their goal to make the arts accessible to people in the community. Make a donation to the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and increase their visibility on social media by liking their Facebook page following them on Instagram @mcclasf.