About Us
“Cuala’s work brings consciousness that can transform a young woman’s life: she’s never been shown or asked to do anything like this before.”
Cuala Foundation believes that the measure of a society is how it takes care of its people. We work to transform disadvantage into disadvantage through culture. The mental and emotional distress that can result in suicide, self-harm, addiction and isolation is often related to intergenerational trauma, and the reasons for this are historical and complex. Like our sister organization Cuala Group in Ireland, we develop new systems self-care with youth and communities on the Lower East Side, connecting people more deeply with themselves, their communities, history and hope: cultivating a culture of belonging and developing economic potential.
These two statistics about Irish women, spanning over a century, are important for understanding the impact of historical trauma:
• Of all the emigrant groups that arrived into New York Harbor throughout the 19th century what was egregious about the Irish was the overwhelming amount of women who came alone: 10 women for every 8 men, mostly aged 15-24.
• Today, Ireland has the highest rate of suicide in Europe for young women and girls aged 15-24.
Most of those we serve are young women and girls. Looking at how women’s voices have been historically suppressed or ignored, we have developed actionable programs that encourage and facilitate young women to express themselves in ways that are empowering.
OUR PROJECT AND PROGRAMS
We host EXHIBITIONS such as #IamIrish at New York Irish Center as part of CualaNYC in 2018 that broke new ground for visibility of Irish people who are also mixed race. Our festival SHEBEENS on Women, Teanga (language), and LGBTQ create belonging and identity with stories, songs, political conversations and poetry: a meeting space beyond the mainstream.
INCHICORE FAMILY PORTRAIT
For three years we collaborated with St. Michaels Family Resource Centre and Core Youth Service on the annual Family Fun Day on the Field in Inchicore for a day of wild fun, bouncy castles, sack races, music, dance, food and just great craic. We set up a Community Portrait Booth and invited people to take a portrait with someone from the community they did not know, as it they were family, because we all belong.
You can check out these and other videos on our YouTube channel.
Jacob Riis Celebration
In 2024 in response to NYCHA’s launch of a year-long campaign to try to convert Jacob Riis Houses to privatization, we produced a Community Celebration with world renowned street artist and former Riis resident Al Diaz. Through a series of workshops with youth, Al created a new sculpture that was installed in The Amphitheater where in 1966 Lady Bird Johnson had declared Riis Houses “the greatest public housing development in America.”
Bomba Loisaida
