Hispanic Heritage, Art on Display at Beck Center

The has featured art on its walls for years.

But nothing quite like this before. 

The Beck Center, marking Hispanic Heritage Month is hosting a contemporary art exhibition featuring the distinctive artworks of 13 Hispanic artists.

“Hispanic Heritage, Hispanic Art” will be unveiled at 5:30 p.m. this Friday during an opening reception.

The exhibit — in the Beck Center’s Jean Bulicek Galleria — will feature the works of the following area artists: Augusto Bordelios, Bruno Casiano, Hector Castellanos, Maria Dejesus Paz, Gabriel Gonzalez, Angelica Pozo, Maria Pujana, Alejandro Rivera, Dante Rodriquez, Bess Rodriquez Richard, Will Sanchez, Jose Vasquez and Hector Vega.

The Beck Center is hosting the exhibit along with the Hispanic Cultural Center of Cleveland.

In a news release, Maria Pujana, one of the featured artists and former Beck Center board member, said that it was a good move to host the exhibit during Hispanic Heritage Month. 

“(The) Beck Center is helping viewers to read the biography of each artist through his or her present work, and allowing them to speculate on the artist's future works,” she said.

But there’s more.

The Beck Center is also presenting “Esperanza’s Youth Artists,” an exhibition that grew out of a series of summer workshops led by artists from American Greetings.

For six weeks, a different artist guided a group of 20 youth-program participants from Esperanza, Inc., a Cleveland area non-profit that promotes Hispanic educational achievement.

“The young artists explored a variety of artistic techniques, including mask making, collage, and block printing,” according to the news release.

That exhibit — in Skylight Gallery — will run at the same time as the “Hispanic Heritage, Hispanic Art” to mark Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Guests at Friday’s reception will be the first to see the exhibit. They will also have the chance to meet the artists, enjoy food, music and drinks.

“Hispanic Heritage, Hispanic Art” will be on display in the at Beck Center through Oct. 14.

For information about upcoming art exhibits at the Beck Center, visit the website at beckcenter.org or call 216-521-2540, ext. 10.