Say Yes campers help La Casita Cultural Center Project with new logo, votes needed to select finalist

Several Syracuse-area organizations have teamed up to engage the public in selecting a logo for the La Casita Cultural Center Project, an initiative housed in Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences that uses arts and culture as a tool for bridging existing gaps between Syracuse’s Latino community, SU and other Central New Yorkers. 

Students in kindergarten through fourth grade participating in the Say Yes to Education Summer Camp at the Seymour School created potential La Casita logos during camp. A panel of artists and scholars selected a finalist from each grade on July 7. 

The drawings from the five young artists are featured at http://blog.syracuse.com/cny-speaks. 

Central New Yorkers can view the designs online and vote; voting concludes at midnight on Tuesday, July 20. The design with the most votes will become La Casita’s official emblem. Voting is free and open to all; a quick link to the voting can also be found at http://cnyspeaks.com/. 

There are several additional events in July surrounding the logo contest and other La Casita activities. All drawings completed by the Say Yes campers will be hung at the Museum of Young Art (MOYA), 110 W. Fayette St. Student trips to MOYA will take all the students to see their art on display on July 19-21. An opening reception and awards ceremony will be held at MOYA beginning at 5 p.m., July 22. 

Area organizations that have helped organize and promote this project are Say Yes to Education, CNYSpeaks, MOYA, The Post-Standard and the Seymour Dual Language Academy. 

Also this month, La Casita is hosting a dual-language reading circle once each week as part of the Say Yes camp. The reading circle is just one example of the type of programming La Casita develops as part of its mission in Syracuse. 

To learn more about the logo contest, the exhibit at MOYA or La Casita in general, contact Inmaculada Lara-Bonilla at 443 8743 or ibonilla@syr.edu.