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Creating Cultural Infrastructure

Article Index Creating Cultural Infrastructure Page 2 Page 1 of 2 The Renovation of the Ruth Carr Memorial School Encinal is a very small, rural South Texas town. Like many rural towns across the United States, Encinal lacks what might be called a "cultural infrastructure." Put simply, kids here don't have access to the things their counterparts have access to--libraries, adult-led activities (like sports, boys, and girls clubs, and scouts), after-school clubs. Hecho en Encinal has been seeking to fill these gaps by drawing in funding from outside of this extremely poor town; to date, we have provided after-school arts and writing clubs, coordinated the community creation of a magnificenttile mural , brought theater performances to town, and developed collaborative relationships with other cultural agencies (most notably, the Alexander Memorial Library in Cotulla). For a list of ongoing and recent programs, visit our programs page. But in addition to providing programs, we envision a community center in which to offer these and other programs--a cornerstone of the cultural infrastructure here. And so among the long-term goals of Hecho en Encinal is the creation of a community arts center. Working in collaboration with the Cotulla Independent School District, Hecho en Encinal plans to oversee the renovation of an unused 1930s-era school. Here, Hecho en Encinal hopes to provide a place for the people of Encinal and surrounding rural areas to participate in the arts through creation, performance, and exhibition. The proposed site for the Center is the Ruth Carr Memorial School, pictured here, located adjacent to the Encinal Elementary School. Closed since 1985, the Ruth Carr school was originally built in the 1930s--generations of local residents remember the building well; in fact, another recent Hecho en Encinal project is the collection and synthesis of memories and stories about the Ruth Carr school and Encinal generally: Childhood Memories is now available as both a portable exhibit and printed booklet (contact us for information about either). Prev - Next >>