New Community Arts Center to be Built in East Harlem, New York

The nonprofit Belongó will use a $9 million grant from The New York State Council on the Arts

Formerly known as the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, Belongó was founded in 2007 by the GRAMMY Award-winning pianist and composer Arturo O’Farrill to provide Afro Latin music education and performance programs. 

The nonprofit has since reached over 150,000 New Yorkers in its mission to preserve and celebrate the music of the Americas and its African and Indigenous traditions — all done through a jazz lens with free music education and world-class performances. 

With its new $9 million capital grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Belongó will build its first permanent home base known as Casa Belongó, a transformative new performing arts and community center in East Harlem. 

The center, designed by the world-renowned firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will also offer free youth music education and mentoring, arts-based anti-violence and justice initiatives, music and dance classes, programming for justice-involved youth and incarcerated populations, plus a community cafe and subsidized rehearsal space for local artists. 

(Image courtesy: Diller Scofidio + Renfro)

Belongó has already secured 70% of its $37.5 million fundraising campaign. Now, its new NYSCA grant brings it within reach of completing its capital campaign by this year. 

Set to open in 2027, Casa Belongó is expected to serve 15,000 to 20,000 community members annually, creating jobs, and advancing arts education.

Additionally, the center will house the Afro Latin Jazz Academy of Music, the Fat Cats Youth Orchestra, plus mentoring initiatives, community concerts, festivals, and artist residencies. 

“We’ve worked in every borough, in every park, school, and community center that welcomed us,” said Marietta Ulacia, Belongó’s executive director. “Now, for the first time, we will have a space of our own … This investment by NYSCA recognizes the mpower of arts to revitalize communities and to elevate underrepresented voices,” she added. “We are honored and energized to build a space where everyone — from young musicians to lifelong lovers of Afro Latin culture — can truly belong.” 

“Governor Hochul and the state of New York stand without peer in the modern political climate, boldly choosing to invest in one of the most critical tools for collective survival: the arts and education,” O’Farrill expressed. “Now more than ever, enlightening the hearts and minds of New Yorkers through culture is a courageous act. Belongó is deeply grateful for this NYSCA grant and proudly reaffirms our 17-year commitment to the belief that a culturally engaged and informed community is empowered to shape its own future with confidence and dignity.”