programs
Six interconnected program strands under one roof, designed to attract artists, audiences, and partners
A Magnet Model
EL CONSULADO's integrated programs approach allows for cross-pollination between disciplines, encourages experimentation, and creates multiple entry points for engagement.
All programs promote collaboration and experimentation regardless of location. This shared, nomadic infrastructure mentality fosters a vibrant ecosystem where artists across regions and disciplines can connect, collaborate, and create innovative work together.
For El CONSULADO, diasporic contemporary art is not a geographic category but a way of rethinking how the art world understands power, history, and collective experience.
Strands
Our six program strands work together to create a dynamic cultural ecosystem that engages diverse audiences and supports diasporic artists at various stages of their creative process
Contemporary Arts
Curated exhibitions, artist residencies, and public installations that showcase contemporary art from diasporic artists, with foundational roots in Venezuelan artistic expression. Our visual arts program emphasizes site-specific works throughout the city in vacant spaces and unconventional venues, creating contemporary art shows and experiences that foster dialogue on relevant cultural and social issues.
"Our pop-up spaces are designed to be versatile, allowing for traditional exhibitions, immersive installations, and experimental presentations that challenge conventional display formats."
Performing Arts
Site-specific theater, dance workshops, and micro-theater festivals that activate our pop-up spaces with a diverse range of performances. We present innovative local and international artists while providing a platform for emerging voices, with special emphasis on diasporic and Venezuelan theater and dance traditions.
"Our pop-up spaces can be configured in multiple ways to accommodate different types of presentations, from intimate performances to immersive theatrical experiences."
Music
New commissions, fusion ensembles, and soundscape interventions that celebrate the rich diversity of diasporic musical traditions, particularly Venezuelan heritage. Our music program supports both traditional forms and contemporary innovations, creating space for experimentation and collaboration.
"Our performance spaces enable musicians to develop new work, collaborate across genres, and engage directly with audiences in intimate settings."
Cinema
Film screenings (short, feature, experimental), filmmaker residencies, panel discussions, and pop-up drive-ins that showcase diasporic cinema, with special focus on Venezuelan filmmakers. Our cinematic arts program provides a platform for emerging filmmakers and creates dialogue around important social and cultural issues.
"Our screenings offer a dedicated space for film presentation, while our flexible spaces allow for innovative formats like outdoor screenings and immersive cinema experiences."
Interdisciplinary
Multimedia labs, digital-analog experiments, and culinary arts events that transcend traditional artistic boundaries. In partnership with Fat Cat Fab Lab, a makers' lab in the West Village, our interdisciplinary program encourages innovation, risk-taking, and collaborative approaches that reflect the complexity and richness of contemporary cultural practice.
"Our workshop studios and partnerships provide space for experimentation across disciplines, fostering unexpected collaborations and innovative approaches to art-making."
Publications
From zines and artist books to curated catalogues and experimental print formats, our publications extend the reach of El Consulado beyond physical spaces. Each edition is conceived as a platform for dialogue, distribution, and cultural exchange, amplifying the voices of diasporic creators—particularly Venezuelan artists, many of whom have long been forgotten or silenced—into tangible, shareable form.
"We see publishing not only as documentation, but as a form of artistic practice—one that connects readers, makers, and communities across borders."
Scope & Partnerships
Nomadic Presence & Satellite Nodes
Although EL CONSULADO NYC was initiated in New York, the project exists as a living, traveling platform that moves through cities where Venezuelan and Latin American diasporic communities gather. Rather than fixed branches, we imagine satellite nodes — temporary constellations of artists, organizers, and publics — activating spaces through exhibitions, screenings, performances, and conversations.
These nomadic activations allow the project to appear, dissolve, and re-form elsewhere, creating a network that grows through relationships rather than infrastructure. Together, these satellites weave a transnational map of shared cultural presence.
Current / Emerging Nodes include:
Each location reflects a different rhythm of migration, return, exile, and belonging while remaining linked through the shared language of Venezuelan and Latin American contemporary culture.
Artist & Filmmaker Exchange Network
Our exchange network supports the circulation of people, skills, stories, and practices across borders. It is not imagined as a traditional residency model, but as a mutual exchange system grounded in hospitality and solidarity.
We hold space for two primary forms of movement:
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Inbound Exchange — Toward New York
Latin American artists, filmmakers, writers, and cultural workers are invited to spend 2–6 months in New York, engaging with diasporic communities, developing projects, and presenting work through our platforms and partner spaces. Stipends and travel support help make this movement possible.
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Outbound Exchange — From New York Outward
Artists based in New York, many of whom already live between cultures, are supported in developing projects with partner collectives and institutions abroad. These journeys culminate in shared presentations, screenings, workshops, or interventions, building bridges across contexts rather than exporting a single model.
Underlying Intention
Across all activity, EL CONSULADO NYC works to:
- • strengthen diasporic cultural ecologies
- • create platforms where artists represent themselves and one another
- • cultivate horizontal networks instead of hierarchical institutions
- • honor mobility as both necessity and creative force
In this sense, the "consulate" does not speak for a nation —
it holds space for a dispersed community to speak for itself.
Join Our Community
Support EL CONSULADO through membership, volunteering, or project sponsorship
Opening Season: 2026
Be part of our inaugural programming through membership, volunteer opportunities, or by supporting our artists and public programs.