DENVER, CO.- The Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC) will welcome the public to its permanent home at 1935 W. 12th Ave., marking nearly a decade of planning, building and community collaboration.

Here, culture takes shape in classrooms, studios, kitchens and gathering spaces. Through exhibitions, performances, arts education and creative career development, LCAC will give artists, young people and families a place to carry traditions forward and develop ideas of their own.

The location gives that mission particular resonance. Near Auraria, where urban renewal displaced hundreds of families from a deeply rooted Latino community in the 1960s and 1970s, LCAC established a lasting cultural presence. Its new home makes space for Latino stories, creative work and community life in a part of Denver shaped by both cultural legacy and displacement.

“Opening the doors to our new home is an incredibly meaningful moment for LCAC and for the people who have helped bring this vision to life,” said Celina Benavidez, Interim Executive Director at the Latino Cultural Arts Center. “Traditions can be celebrated while making room for new ideas, new artists, and new generations. We are proud to create a home where people can see themselves reflected in the cultural life of Denver while preserving a traditionally Latino community.”

A Place to Make Culture

LCAC’s new home brings the many ways culture is created and shared under one roof. Young people can discover new interests in classrooms. Artists can experiment in studios and share their work through exhibitions and performances. Kitchens offer space to pass down food traditions, connecting generations through the recipes, skills and stories they carry.

Together, these spaces support a cultural center that will evolve with the people who use it. Learning, artistic practice and everyday exchange are central to LCAC’s vision, giving community members opportunities to contribute as well as participate.

Community Stories, Woven Into the Design

The collaborations behind the Center reflect that same spirit. Designed by Handprint Architecture, whose longstanding relationship with LCAC helped shape the Center from its earliest stages, the space reflects years of collaboration and a shared vision for its future.

The collaboration expanded to include additional partners, including Citizen HKS, global architecture and design firm, HKS’s social impact initiative, the firm partnered with LCAC on elements of the visitor experience, interior and exterior donor installations and donor recognition strategies.

“Being part of LCAC’s journey to establish a permanent home has been incredibly rewarding.” said Jarrett Andrés Hardy, Designer at HKS. “Working alongside the Center and its community partners, we explored how design could help tell its stories and reflect the people it serves. We're proud to have contributed to a space where culture, creativity and community can come together.”

Among them is Hilos Vivos, a donor recognition installation developed with LCAC, artists, scholars and cultural advisors. Honoring stories of labor and legacy, the installation brings cultural storytelling into the experience of the building.

Consume & Create developed the Center’s brand through conversations with staff, students, artists, donors and community members, grounding its identity in the voices of those shaping its future. Through Perkins&Will’s Social Purpose program, the firm partnered with HKS and Consume & Create on interiors, furnishings and learning environments that support the Center’s educational and creative activities.

With its permanent home, LCAC gains a foundation for expanding its programs and deepening its role in Denver’s cultural life. The opening is the beginning of that next chapter: a place where generations can gather, artists can build their practices, and Latino creativity can continue to grow.