The International Brazilian Opera Company (IBOC) is a New York-based non-profit (501c3) organization with a mission to support the creation of a new operatic repertoire combining ideas from Brazilian and international artists while providing an educational structure for emerging talent.

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Since 2013, we've supported 64 immigrant artists to work in the USA, developed 7 operas, presented in 3 countries, and have provided music education experiences for the youth and adults alike.

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IBOC serves to create cross-cultural connections and dialogue. The company was established out of a need for more musical and cultural diversity in opera. IBOC also overcomes barriers to immigrant participation by sponsoring artist visas and navigating the ins and outs of foreign bureaucracy and project funding for artist development.

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The partnership with the 111th St. Block Association started when we sought to create an environment to develop and promote our popular music performing artists in the IBOC Career Development Program while creating deeper connections with our local NYC community.

The W111th Street Block Association is an active group of neighbors who volunteer to keep our community clean, safe, and livable. The Block Association was originally founded in the early 1970s but was dormant until 2020, as COVID-19 was emerging. Our group works closely with local residents, small businesses, nearby institutions, and other community organizations to host family-friendly entertainment/education programs, neighborhood improvement efforts, and events that support local shops and restaurants.

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The Block Association was selected to pilot the 2023 Building Blocks program. This initiative was developed by Open Plans, a citywide nonprofit that works to enhance community engagement and propel improvements to local infrastructure. Along with our effective working relationships with NYPD 26th Precinct, FDNY Engine 47, and Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, this is an example of how we foster neighbor input in local policy discussions.

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Morningside Heights has a long and notable history of neighborhood engagement and Block Association participants are proud to continue this legacy of ensuring our diverse community is informed and engaged. We have been covered widely in local print, broadcast, and online media and recognized by our New York State Assembly Member, the Manhattan Borough President, and our City Council Member. The Block Association has received funding from the Citizens Committee for New York and the New York City Department of Transportation to operate a very successful Open Street on Amsterdam Avenue -- the first in Morningside Heights. Our annual Good Neighbor and Hero of Morningside Heights awards recognize neighbors and prominent New Yorkers who have made positive impacts in our community.

l Taller Latino Americano (The Latin American Workshop) is a 501(c)(3) community-based non-profit arts and education institution established in New York City in 1979 to bridge the gap between Latin and North Americans through the language of art, dance, and music. 

El Taller provides experiences to its local and global community that serve as expressions of our shared humanity and of our shared cultural heritage. Our aim is to inspire an extended commitment to our world through ongoing exposure to each other's artistic and cultural lives in order to invigorate learning and understanding, while forming a working community with the skills to read, interpret, and respond to one another and to the world in which they live.

El Taller offers its community a varied menu of Spanish language classes, arts programming, and music. We seek not only to educate, but also to engage and gather diverse groups together culturally and linguistically on the common ground of creativity.

Over 500 people each month meet to share ideas, participate in classes, and find creative inspiration and a refuge in the middle of New York City. 1000s more meet online to view concerts online, chat, and exchange art and ideas on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages. El Taller's story is a testimony to the nature of community in New York City, one assembled in the atmospheres of the home, the public plaza, the classroom, the stage, and the artist's studio.

The social impact of offering the chance to participate in cultural arts activities and education within the community of El Taller is not only evident by the numbers of all who come—visitors, participants, teachers, and students, but also by the positive effect of collective action and collaboration enabled by El Taller on individuals and groups.