La Casa de Don Pedro is a “legacy” 501c3 established to contend with the rise and decline of American cities after WWII.  Returning veterans, migration from rural America to cities and an increase in affluence, education and expectations of the American public came with benefits and problems. 

 

Experiments with urban housing were not always successful.  Public housing projects, unrestricted zoning, the movement away from public transportation all had their effects; some quite successful, some not so.  La Casa works to “fill in the gaps” to restore blocks and districts where things went wrong and to revivify urban areas with projects that improve the quality of life and that are, above all, sustainable.  

 

Art is a major element in this process.  Public art, a general awareness of and presence of art in a community can “open” and make accessible of once troubled blocks.  The Artfront Galleries project is one of those elements.

 

With the ongoing support of the Lower Broadway Neighborhood Association, The Artfront Galleries will be a sustainable force  for renewal in Newark.

 

www.lacasanwk.org