Stonehenge in East Harlem:
El Museo del Barrio Series Takes Latino Art to the Streets
By Sarah McNaughton and Ines Perez on Nov 16th, 2011on Nov 16th, 2011
Rafael Sánchez and Kathleen White wanted to see a dolmen—the archetypal stone structure found at Stonehenge—and thought everyone else would, too, so they decided to build one that could travel. The Cuban and American artists erected their “Somewhat Portable Dolmen” on a knoll in East Harlem’s 103rd Street Community Garden for a few hours on a recent Saturday; then the wood-and-foamcore structure disappeared as quickly as it went up.
Sánchez and White’s urban dolmen is part of El Museo del Barrio’s (S) Files art series, which features the work of Latino, Caribbean and Latin American artists in New York City. In this, the sixth biennial series, a record 75 artists work in almost every medium, including performance, paintings and murals, multimedia and sculpture. Also known as the Street Files, the series began in June and continues into early January. (S) Files exhibits and performances have been hosted by galleries, museums and, in collaboration with the New York Restoration Project, community gardens across the city. Take a look at the Sánchez and White outdoor exhibit below:
