Mr. Cruz notably began to explore his voice as a playwright at the invitation of the internationally celebrated playwright, director, and teacher, María Irene Fornés, when he left Miami in the early 1990s to join INTAR’s Hispanic Playwrights-in-Residence Laboratory—a «national program to stimulate and develop writing abilities of Hispanic playwrights» led by Ms. Fornés from 1981 to 1992.
Ms. Fornés’s impact and legacy are profound, and grow stronger in her absence thanks to the dedication of contemporary theatre artists and scholars, who, in turn, teach and inspire a new generation of students and theater artists around the world via the
Fornés Institute. A vivid exploration of Ms. Fornés’s story can be found in the documentary portrait
The Rest I Make Up, directed by Michelle Memran.
INTAR is not only interested in the development of single artists, but also in connecting artists to each other to produce dynamic collaborations. One such ensemble is
LAByrinth Theater Company, originally known as Latino Actors Base, which was founded at INTAR by a group of actors in the early 1990s, and continues to produce exciting new work to this day.
In 1987, the NY Times reported on a thriving multi-arts center at INTAR under Max Ferrá and then managing director Dennis Ferguson-Acosta, in our previous space on West 42nd Street. The
INTAR Gallery was a launching pad for Latin visual arts talent, ranking among the most influential for Latin artists in the USA under the leadership and vision of artist and curator
Inverna Lockpez, who curated more than 250 exhibitions of visual and sculptural works between 1979 and 1994.
INTAR’s history can be described in many ways, but a linear storyline may be the least compelling. As INTAR welcomes new artists into our community, each artist becomes an intrinsic part of our history, and each of our artists’s histories become our own.
