The Art + Media House, is a community-based arts center dedicated to Discovering the Power of Your Art!  through educational programs and exhibitions.

Location and Directions: 

Address: 3035 15th Street, NW. Washington, DC 20009

Metro: Green Line, Columbia Heights Station, One block west of the Metro

Program Office: 202-319-2293

E-mail: artmediahouse@layc-dc.org

The Art + Media House is a division of the Latin American Youth Center.   Art has been an integral part of the LAYC since its’ beginning. 

In 1979 the Taller de Artes Graficas (Barrio Graphics) was formed headed, a Chilean artist next store at the Centro de Artes.  LAYC youth started doing typesetting for local newspapers, beginning with El Pregonero.   Later in 1980, LAYC started their own newspaper, El Barrio, which set a standard for the rest of Latino newspapers in terms of the quality of its reporting.

Chilean artists also brought a form that was new to the area: guerilla murals.  They trained youth at LAYC to make the murals.

The Escuela de Rumba started in 1979 in the basement with the objective of linking youth with famous musicians.  The Escuela de Rumba spawned two typical folkloric music groups, each combining young students with older master: one was Estrellas del Song (Afro-Cuban), the other was Los Hijos de Adolfo Sachs (a typical meringue Dominican Group).

One of LAYC’s art projects, which took place from 1982 to 1986, focused on capturing the history of D.C. Latinos through what has became known as the ‘Oral History’ project.    Youth went out, armed with pens and cameras, to interview Latinos in the community. The products of the oral history program were taken out to schools with the objective of providing youth at the schools with a unique opportunity to learn about the richness of the contributions of Latinos to the community.

In 1985, as an outgrowth of youth involvement in a program called Teatro Nuestro sponsored by the Centro de Arte, LAYC established its own interactive theatre program,  Latinegro.  It represents one of LAYC's most creative endeavors to marry the arts, in this case street theatre, with issues faced by youth, starting with the tensions between Latino and Black youth. Latinegro continued until 1992.

By the early 1990s LAYC had become involved in a variety of photography and video projects, among them which gave youth a chance to shoot video and produce films that shared their perspective.  Two products of note were the film “Que Pasa”, which was nominated for a Rosebud award, and a “HIV: It’s Real”, a public service announcement on HIV/AIDs produced in collaboration with the Whitman-Walker Center.

LAYC collaborated with the Corcoran Gallery of Art on a project called Kommunity,  where youth worked with professional photographers identified by the Corcoran during the summer of 1997 to document their lives.
 
In 1997 the Smithsonian partnered with LAYC to install a Latino Heritage Center at LAYC in a effort to showcase the lives and achievements of Latinos in DC.

In late 1998 the LAYC formed a partnership with Youth Radio, based in Berkley California.  The LAYC served as a DC Bureau and was able to air youth perspectives on NPR and WTOP.  

In October 2004 the Art + Media House opened to provide a permanent home for arts programs at the LAYC, by transforming an abandoned house into a vibrant creative space

Facility: 

Programs for both youth and adults are held at the Art + Media House's three-story facility that includes a gallery, fine arts studio, digital media lab, sound room, audio engineering room, darkroom, and classroom space.