Art education en las nubes (in the clouds): pandemic programming and a legacy of learning at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center

Abstract

The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) in Austin, Texas is dedicated to the “preservation, creation, presentation, and promotion of the cultural arts of Mexican Americans and Latino cultures.” The center, which opened in 2007, is a result of over forty years of activism by the Mexican American community. Not only did they succeed in building the center, but they also created a community of practice (CoP) that would create a legacy of learning that would sustain and expand the center. In March 2020, the MACC closed its doors indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It became clear that the City of Austin facility would have to find creative ways to engage its various Latinx communities and the staff got to work learning new digital tools, navigating accessibility issues, and rethinking arts-based programing for a virtual world. This article analyzes the work of the MACC’s CoP as it adapted to this new reality and employed lessons from its past to reimagine the future of the center. Through interviews with staff and participants, ethnographic research, as well as my experiences teaching at the MACC, I illustrate how the center’s staff found innovative ways to reach and continue the CoP.