Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center

The Clemente, which was established as a cultural center in 1993, is located on 107 Suffolk Street in the former PS 160 in Manhattan's historic Lower East Side neighborhood (also known as Loisaida).

[1] In addition to hosting programming related to Peforma and IDEAS City, the Center is also home to Teatro La Tea, LEFT (Latino Experimental Fantastic Theater), and the leading children’s company SEA, believed to be the only bilingual puppet theatre in the United States.

Snyder perceived school buildings as civic monuments that would better society and sought to provide spaces for learning that would offer a respite from noisy streets and poverty.

He was concerned with health and safety issues in public schools and focused on fire protection, ventilation, lighting, and classroom size.

Snyder used terra cotta blocks in floor construction to improve fireproofing, and large and numerous windows to allow more light and air into the classrooms.

In 1993, Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Nelson Landrieu and Mateo Gómez, all of whom are actively involved in the Latino arts community of New York City, founded the Clemente Soto Vélez as a cultural and educational center.

The Clemente currently provides studio space for over two dozen artists, as well as a home for the following institutions: In 2022 an exhibition curated by Yasmeen Abdallah and Anna Shukeylo titled "To Have And To Hold" was presented.