Click HERE to view flyer. *Note: Open House drop-off date has been changed to April 17, 2010 from 10am to 1pm in the Multicultural Center.
Langley Park and the Multicultural Center
Langley Park (also known as the International Corridor) is one of the region’s most diverse communities, where nearly two out of three residents come from outside the United States and 27 languages are spoken. Latino immigrants comprise the largest ethnic group, but the area is also home to African immigrants, Asian immigrants, and African-Americans, among others. Immigrant-owned businesses are on every corner, and residents are committed to improving their neighborhood. Though plagued by poverty, unemployment, language barriers, low formal educational attainment, and violent crime, Langley Park’s challenges are outpaced by its diversity and potential as a thriving and vibrant community.
CASA has deepened its investment in Langley Park and is working with local and national partners to position the neighborhood to attract resources that will enable families to thrive. For example, CASA’s community crime prevention campaign has been successful in engaging low-income residents in combating violent crime and improving relationships with local police. Additionally, CASA is working with coalition partners to encourage the Prince George’s County Council to establish a health care clinic in Langley Park. In November 2008, with the support of Prince George’s County and national partners such as the Ford Foundation and Bank of America, CASA opened its newest worker and immigrant service center in Langley Park. CASA now serves hundreds of immigrant workers and their families each month through this facility. CASA’s vision for Langley Park is of a healthy and thriving multicultural community that is safe, free of crime, and supportive of children’s academic and social success, and where investment brings additional resources to the community but does not displace low-income families.
In spring 2010, CASA will open its Multicultural Center at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building (formerly the historic McCormick-Goodhart Home) in the heart of Langley Park. The 21,000 square-foot building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is expected to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The opening of the Multicultural Center is the culmination of years of planning, fundraising, and organizing, and will mark the start of a new era for the organization and Langley Park’s diverse community. Through its new Center, CASA will celebrate the spirit of multiculturalism, strengthen its ability to achieve its mission, and establish its permanent home. CASA’s Multicultural Center will house the organization’s nationally recognized set of programs and services as well as four other nonprofit organizations with expertise in serving Langley Park’s minority communities. Thanks to the joint efforts of community members, public officials, and private supporters, the center will be able to serve over 6,000 low-income families annually.
Justification
CASA de Maryland is committed to spreading its mission of social equality--allowing for access to resources for the underserved populations of Maryland. Particularly in Langley Park, the low-income community has limited or no local access to the arts through such outlets as museums, exhibits, and art shows.
At CASA, we believe that art must be democratized in order to give people of all backgrounds access to the arts as well as the opportunity to participate in the making of an identity. Thus, CASA aims to create permanent and temporary exhibits at the Multicultural Center, encouraging the community to feel part of the making and re-enforcing of the Langley Park character. The Multicultural Center will become a space to share and explore the immigrant experience. Through the arts, CASA will strengthen the populations’ sense of belonging by offering an exhibit that reflects immigrant culture in Maryland for the past two centuries.
Our Multicultural Art Project is an initiative that looks to aesthetically transform CASA’s new Multicultural Center into a true community museum reflecting Maryland’s cultural diversity. In order to move forward with this initiative, CASA has convened an Art Committee comprised of CASA’s multicultural and multiracial staff, volunteers, and community members whose mission is to conduct artist outreach and select the art pieces that will make up CASA’s permanent collection. CASA hopes to recruit artists that will represent Langley Park’s international corridor, both at a local and national level.
Our objectives
• To represent the multicultural identity and social struggle of the Langley Park community and the broader immigrant communities in Maryland through the artwork and other educational media exhibits gathered from local community members and supporting institutions. These exhibits (both permanent and temporary) should manifest the journey and struggle of immigrants into this country, and how they have integrated into it.
• To ensure that the Multicultural Center hosts a variety of rotating cultural events, such as art and photography exhibits, performing arts, etc., thereby making Langley Park an attractive cultural beacon.
• To convene people of the five continents through our Multicultural Art Project in order to highlight the importance of pluralism, multiculturalism and women in the arts.
• To celebrate CASA’s 25 years in the community by sharing our pride in being immigrants and contributing to the identity of this country as a whole.
How you can Help!
CASA de Maryland is currently accepting art donations from artists interested in contributing to CASA’s mission--honoring the lives of thousands of low-income immigrants in the Langley Park area. CASA de Maryland, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, therefore, all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
We are inviting artists to leave a legacy at our new home by contributing artwork to our permanent exhibit. CASA’s Multicultural Center has entered its final phase of construction, and has a two month period to transform the interior of the mansion into a community museum. Your artwork will add great prestige to our new center, and will both educate and delight the low-income communities in Maryland that have very limited resources and exposure to artwork. On behalf of CASA’s Art Committee, I hope that you will consider being a part of CASA’s family.
The selection process will occur on Wednesday, March 3rd from 2pm-5pm in the new CASA Multicultural Center. Artists are invited to bring the art work for consideration.
Art drop-off
CASA de Maryland will be accepting art donations until March 3rd, 2010. The selection process will occur on Saturday, April 17, 2010 from 10am-1pm in the Multicultural Center. Art donations can also be made personally or sent by mail to:
CASA de Maryland, Inc.
Att. Maria Clara Samaniego
734 University Blvd. E.
Silver Spring, MD 20903
For further information please do not hesitate to call Maria Clara Samaniego at 301.431.4185 x. 1253. You can also contact her via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
