About

More than 38,000 children, youth, young adults, families and community residents participate in the 50 programs MACLA produces each year in four core program tracts.

Visual Arts—Our programming is fresh, innovative and risk-taking. Although we take great pride in our ethnic roots, we see contemporary Latinx art as part and parcel of the larger American experience. Therefore, we provide a space that challenges preconceived notions about what constitutes contemporary Latinx arts and culture, celebrates diversity in the arts, and brings community together for dialogue. MACLA offers free admission to all four exhibitions annually in our gallery along with artists’ talks with artists and curator, gallery tours and workshops that expand upon the themes and issues addressed and that place artists firmly within their artistic and cultural contexts.

Our visual arts program is fresh, innovative, and risk-taking. Focused on promoting established and emerging artists whose work is rooted in a Latinx experience and history, but inclusive of global and multi-cultural movements, we see contemporary Latinx art as part and parcel of the larger American experience.

Performing & Literary Arts—From theatre to music and dance, our performance and literary arts track offers new perspectives on contemporary Latinx culture and civic society. Our 120-seat Castellano Playhouse is a leading downtown venue, providing space for diverse community arts groups each year. MACLA commissions outstanding new work and has sponsored several world premieres, which enables us to support the careers of performing artists in especially meaningful and tangible ways. 

As part of the National Performance Network (NPN), we offer two artist residencies annually and present national touring professionals. In addition, we commission one new work every other year.

Youth Arts Education—The Teen Tech Center at MACLA provides a platform to mentor Silicon Valley youth (ages 12-19) in 21st century skill development through technology and multimedia production. Free year-round classes include augmented reality, stop-motion animation, movie and music production, podcasting, and photography. The Teen Tech Center provides college and career readiness skills, empowers youth from impacted neighborhoods to make positive life choices and use their voices for social change and personal expression. 

MACLA’s approach to youth arts education received national attention when we were chosen to develop the San Jose Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academy (PAYVA), launched in August 2011.

Public Community Programs—This is the overall philosophy that informs all of our programs and translates our artistic practices into successful community-building strategies. Through arts-based programs and community events, we bring together multicultural artists, audiences, and a wide spectrum of residents so they may interact and develop mutual understanding.

The South First Fridays art walk in downtown San José is a self- guided evening tour through galleries, museums, and independent creative businesses. At MACLA you can browse our latest exhibition and listen to music or dance with us. Our performers represent the best of the Latinx diaspora in the Bay Area.