|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In New Bedford’s North End, next to a newly installed outdoor grass and walkway area, sits a building that appears unused and vacant, despite its recently restored exterior. A colorful sign of blues, reds, and greens on one brick wall depicts a woman singing into a microphone and musicians playing instruments. White lettering on the sign identifies the structure as the Cape Verdean Cultural Center, formerly the Strand Theater.
At a table in the middle of the room, donning a maroon suit and black T-shirt, sits Amilcar Lopes, poised and eager to talk about the buildings’ complex history and deep roots in New Bedford. Despite aged movie posters lining the floor and chairs and boxes scattered throughout the room, he envisions a vibrant arts hub rising in New Bedford’s North End — a return to the “Glory Days,” he says. The unused stage, exposed brick walls and expansion space create a space for opportunity. A place for history to meet innovation.
As the inaugural executive director of New Bedford’s Cape Verdean Association, Lopes is responsible for raising the funds to revamp the space and for engaging the community through programming.
He plans to combine his banking background with his Cape Verdean roots and connections — which stretch from Providence to New Bedford — to reach the monetary goals needed for this project and to nurture existing connections among Cape Verdean communities.
The cultural center will highlight local Cape Verdean artistic talents but aims to be a center for all, Lopes said.
Darlene Spencer, president of the Cape Verdean Association in New Bedford, said Lopes’ experience in capital campaign work, involvement in multiple Cape Verdean organizations, background in history and fluency in multiple languages contributed to the association’s appointment of him.
“When people come in with fresh eyes, they see things that we sometimes miss,” Spencer said. “Amilcar is that person. He’s come into New Bedford with fresh eyes.”
The building, which has belonged to the association since about 1990, has been used sporadically over the past five years, but never on a continuous basis. By restoring the building, the association is taking a “huge, positive step in our history as a nonprofit here in New Bedford,” Spencer said.
“We can’t have deep programming without the completion of the cultural center,” she said.
In a conversation with The Light, Lopes discussed his work in New Bedford, his vision for the Cultural Center and the Cape Verdean Association, and the impacts these efforts could have on New Bedford.
New Bedford Light: Could you tell us about your background and what brought you to work in New Bedford? What attracted you to the role of executive director for the Cape Verdean Association of New Bedford?
Amilcar Lopes: I was born in the Cape Verde Islands, and I came here when I was a child in 1986. My whole family moved to join my grandfather. I grew up in Providence, went to public school there, then went to college at Boston College. After that, I went to do a master’s in Europe at the University of Leuven in Belgium where I did two master’s in diplomacy and in economic finance. Afterwards, I came back to America to start my career in banking. I stayed here for about a year or two and then went back to Belgium where I married my then girlfriend, and started and continued my career in banking.
I’m coming from project management work in several banks in Europe. Sometime before COVID, I decided to come back to America and in 2021, I came back. I eventually started volunteering at a local community organization in Pawtucket called the Cape Verdean American Community Development center. They asked me to then become vice president, which I accepted.
When this executive director role came up, I thought it was a great opportunity. I actually did not know they had this building. Me applying for this role was because I’d like to continue working in community organizations such as the CACD, and the one in New Bedford is perfect.
When I came to visit the building for the first time, I was mesmerized. I was completely taken aback by the sheer emphasis on history and culture that this building has, the potential that it has, but also the fact that it could be such an asset to the community. And that, to me, was a nice thing. So I went through the interviews, was accepted, and here I am.
What attracted me to this role, besides what I just mentioned, is the fact that we have such a great asset that we need to get it back to New Bedford. New Bedford needs a building such as this, and I was brought in to help with the team to get it going, to allow it to shine again. My role will be to lead the capital campaign, facilitate the different aspects of the association, work with different foundations, with grants, funding, donations, different partners within the community, within New Bedford, and I’ve been doing that since I joined. I also need to create new programs and events that will come into this space.
NBL: What specific programs and events would that be? What would this programming look like?
AL: In a nutshell, these will be programs for the youth, programs for senior citizens or older generations, but also programs for women and children and people in general. They are all related to or involve art, music, culture and performing arts.
We’ll have classes and workshops for the youth, for example. We’ll have meetings and gatherings, maybe language classes for the community like Portuguese, Creole, English and Spanish-speaking classes. We’ll also have classes for theater and film, and we’d like to work together with the local universities and colleges to bring in a program here to teach the students – whether it be college or high school – how to do filming, how to work in plays, how to become actors. Drawing, painting, everything related to arts and culture. There will be a lot of performances.
For performing arts, I’m referring mainly to theater and music. So a lot of bands and singing, live music shows, but also lots of plays, lots of presentations. The Cultural Center and the Island Park will work together seamlessly in different areas. The space uses the idea of a theater and all that the theater offers, but it also caters to other areas, such as community gathering, classes and education.
NBL: Could you talk about the two projects that you’re focusing on?
AL: So the two projects that we have are the Island Park and the Cultural Center. Both will work together, but each one is separate because they offer different aspects to the community.
Island Park was built because we asked the locals what they would prefer us to do with that space. We bought the space sometime around 2020, and there was a lot of talk to convert it into a parking lot for this building because we will have a lot of events here, and we’ll need parking space. However, the locals responded to our survey that they desperately need a space of leisure parks and open space, and we listened to them.
We kind of gave up our plan of having a parking space. We gave that back to the community, because even though we desperately need a parking space, the community needs a park. For that space, we envision lots of performances and activities throughout the year. When there is no activity, it’s open for people to come and sit and enjoy and read a book. There’s going to eventually be trees, and we’ll have plenty of shades.
It’s a park for the community. That’s the island. Why is it called Island Park? I was told this, and it’s brilliant. It harkens back to the fact that the locals are from islands.
NBL: Are there specific results you hope to come out of these events in the Cape Verdean community in New Bedford?
AL: First and foremost, these events are not just for the Cape Verdean community even though that is our main focus. They are mainly for everyone in the community. We’re going to have performances, arts and music from multiple ethnic backgrounds and multiple cultures. It’s led by the Cape Verdean Association, so there is going to be an emphasis on Cape Verdean culture.
For us, the meaning of success is that the building is opened up for the community. That the community is appreciating it and using it for what it’s worth and for what it’s there for, which is a gathering place for arts and culture, showcasing local artists and exposing the artistic talent of the New Bedford community.
But first and foremost, it will be a hub for the North End of New Bedford, which we are lacking in a lot of these resources. These buildings are here, but they’re not open yet to the public, because they were closed at some point or repurposed. Now we’re bringing them back.
NBL: Why is this initiative to repair the building and use it again, along with the Island Park initiative, happening now?
AL: New Bedford is changing. It’s becoming an avant garde city, a very dynamic city. It’s very strong in art. It’s becoming very strong in art and music and theater. The mayor and the local authorities are pushing to bring back New Bedford to what it used to be in its glory days. So you have that on one side.
On the other side is that some areas, like North End, have somewhat been forgotten about. It’s not because of neglect but because a lot of focus has been on the downtown area, which also needs a lot of attention. I believe that over time, they’re going to come to these parts. That’s why there is an emphasis to already start the steps to open up these assets of the North End of New Bedford. There’s an emphasis on rekindling that spirit, right, so that both sides, the southern end and the northern ends of New Bedford become one again. The I-195 came in and sort of divided them, but there are other ways to bring it back in.
Several investments in both the local community and the tourism industry are putting an emphasis on places such as this to be given back to the community. I keep repeating that, but that’s so important. These buildings and areas are still here, we just need to get them back.
Also, this area is predominantly working class, predominantly immigrants or immigrant families. So there is a special need to help them continue being part of the city. A lot of them are living in less desirable conditions, as is the case with all immigrant communities. Eventually, the next generations will integrate, and the American dream continues that way. But because this part of New Bedford has always had an influx of immigrants there’s been a lack of development in this part of town.
In the decades to come, this area is going to mushroom into something much larger, and maybe again, rekindle back to the glory days and how it used to be, at least.
NBL: What has your experience been as an immigrant to America specifically in the Cape Verdean community in New Bedford?
AL: I am an immigrant, and I am proud of the fact that I’m an immigrant, but at the same time, I feel I’m very much American like everyone else. I grew up here. I came here as a kid, so I don’t see myself actually, in the way I live my life here, I don’t live my life as an immigrant, per se.
I live my life as a citizen of Rhode Island. With that said, I still have ties with Cape Verde as much as I have ties with here. So I do visit Cape Verde, often on a yearly basis. I didn’t go last year, but before that, I was going sometimes two or three times a year.
As such, I feel that I’m very integrated in American society, that it’s almost second nature as an immigrant. I take advantage of what the community, what the cities in the state offer in areas of art, music and culture. And so as such, I’m very fully integrated in that perspective. When I hear about immigrants, I actually kind of don’t see myself as that until I realize ‘Oh, wait, actually, they’re talking about me.’
I don’t question people where they’re from. I don’t ask them their ethnic background. I mean, I’m curious as to where they were born, like which cities and whatnot, and if they were born in another city outside the U.S., that’s beautiful. You’re here and you’re part of that society. It’s great.
That is something I noticed that is not reciprocated. Many people will ask me, where are you from? And I know exactly what they mean, and I don’t like to answer that question, so I answer that I’m from Providence, Rhode Island. And not because I’m shunning away from my ethnic background. I’m very proud of it, and I will carry it with a mantle. But I don’t ask others for their ethnic background because it puts them in the box. So when they ask me that question, it puts me in that box, and I refuse to be in that box.
NBL: How has your experience been integrating into New Bedford’s Cape Verdean community? And are there any other ways that you are hoping to integrate yourself more now in your new role as executive director?
AL: I always came here when I was a child to visit family members. New Bedford has always been second nature to me. However, I didn’t know New Bedford until now. I didn’t realize, for example, that Fort Taber was there all these years. I had no idea about that area. In fact, I had no idea that New Bedford had beaches. That’s the level of aloof I’ve been with regards to New Bedford.
I’ve fallen in love with the city. The city is really beautiful. It has a lot of potential. A lot of work needs to be done in both the downtown area and this part, but it has so much to offer. I think the I-195 didn’t do justice to it. It broke the community. It broke the city, and divided it, and then Route 18 also divided the downtown area. If you rethink the infrastructure and development, you can get back those areas. You just have to think outside the box, kind of like what Europeans have been doing.
I foresee Route 18 becoming a boulevard. I don’t know if that’s the plan for the city. I missed the last meeting, but I wanted to see what they were thinking about how the city could become. But that area, that Route 18, is dividing the potential. If you develop that, if you open that up, then restaurants will come in on that side and bars and it’ll be very similar to Newport, for example.
New Bedford has what it takes to become Newport, or even better than Newport, because it actually has a thriving port, which Newport doesn’t. New Bedford has a historical presence similar to Newport.
So I think that urban development, urban renewal, needs to come in. I have faith in the local policy, local councils and the mayor, so let’s just see what comes out from that, from their ideas. But there’s a lot of potential in New Bedford, for sure.
NBL: You were living abroad internationally for a while, so what made you decide to come back to the U.S. and the South Coast area specifically?
AL: It starts with the fact that my whole family is here, over 100 years now, about 150 years if you think about it.
I love everything about Europe, but I always wanted to come back home. Now I have three homes. While I was in Belgium, it became a home, and then my home in Providence that I grew up in and my home in Cape Verde. Coming back to America was coming back to my family and friends. So that was the main impetus for me to return.
NBL: You have a background in banking, so how did you transition into more community-based roles?
AL: Because of the CACD. When I became a volunteer for the CACD, I was helping out a lot with the local community in Pawtucket. You get a lot more benefit out of it. You see the fruits of your labor. You’re working on behalf of the local community, on behalf of those who actually need it, so you see the fruits of your labor. You get more satisfaction out of it.
In banking, you work from one project to another. For a brief moment, your manager is satisfied, but then you move on to the next project, and all that pressure comes in for you to finish that project before the next one and the next one.
Working in a nonprofit organization, any little thing that you do has impact, especially if it’s a community organization. A project of this magnitude will have a massive impact in the community. If you think about working in banking or working in a nonprofit organization, in the long run, which one would you affect more? Which one would you have more impact on? It goes without saying the community. Because it touches people.
NBL: Are there any skills or things that you learned with your various banking jobs and your banking background that you plan to transfer towards your work in the community now as executive director for the CVANB?
AL: Certainly in the projects and in managing different aspects, wearing different hats and thinking progressive more. Thinking about how we get to where we want to go from where we are now and having a methodological, logical approach to managing an association. I’m thinking about the resources that we will need, the timeline, the milestones, the bottlenecks, the resources, and the tools. All that comes into play.
It’s almost as if the work that I then did was a training ground for what I need to be now. It would have been hard to do that if I hadn’t had that background, but it’s been a gradual change. Going from banking to consultancy to working in a nonprofit organization as a non-volunteer and as a volunteer member, gave me more background that perfectly positions me in this role.
NBL: On that note, are there any other connections that you also are hoping to continue or grow with the other Cape Verdean communities in the South Coast and New England area?
AL: The focus will be on the South Coast and the local talent from New Bedford, Fairhaven and Dartmouth. Cape Verde is here. There are many musicians. There are many artists here that are from Cape Verde, but also Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, English, Irish, French, the African island groups, others from the African continent and Americas all here. All of them have something to offer, and a place such as this allows that to come, gives them a space to gather all that talent but also helps to expose the Cape Verdean culture, the Cape Verdean artistic legend that we have.
We only have a population of about 500,000 in Cape Verde and another 500,000 here. So about a million total in the world, maybe about 2 million. And yet, we have so much to offer, especially in the area of arts and culture, so that’s going to be the main focus.
I keep going back to the community, the local community, the North End community. That’s what this building is for, and that’s going to be our main focus and main attraction is to harken the local talent. It’s a center of culture for the local community. And this local community is a lot of Cape Verdeans, and as we are a Cape Verde Association, that’s going to be our bread and butter. But we will cater to others as well. That’s part of who we are as an association.
NBL: How has not having this building to use actively for gathering had an effect on the community here in New Bedford?
AL: It’s had a profound effect on the community. Not having a place opened up such as at this magnitude for the community does do a detriment. It’s as if it’s saying, ‘We have this asset, but we don’t use it.’ So it’s actually not there. It just occupies space.
I think it’s had a negative impact not being open because once it’s open, the community can use it for so much more. But if it’s closed, you lose that asset and that value for what it can become. If you look around, there aren’t many buildings of that nature in this part of the town, so it’s going to be very important for the locals and for the city.
NBL: You spent some time at the CACD in Pawtucket. Are there any specific experiences or insights from that role specifically that you plan to transfer now to your new role as executive director?
AL: There are many charts I plan to transfer, mainly on working with the community and with different aspects to identify their pain points and the issues that they’re facing. I also was a founder of a local nonprofit Cape Verdean organization in Belgium, so that’s when I started working for nonprofit organizations as a volunteer and then I was a treasurer.
NBL: You said that when you work with the community you ask what their pain points are and that you are focusing on the art in New Bedford. Is that because that’s a pain point for New Bedofrd or rather a strength? What is the reason for focusing on the arts specifically in New Bedford?
AL: It’s actually both pain and strength for New Bedford. It’s a pain point because there’s so much talent that is not being tapped into, that’s the pain point. But there’s so many of these assets, these buildings, these locations that are there that are not being used.
Putting them together in an avant garde city is brilliant. It’s like catching three birds with one stone. That’s what this building represents and the association. The association is focused on arts and culture, mainly because of this building. We’re going to be on the arts and culture lane. So that’s our focus. That’s our path.
New Bedford Light: Where is the funding for all of this coming from?
AL: We’ve been somewhat successful with partnering, local associations, foundations and grants. Our main partners are the South Coast Foundation, New Bedford Creative, studio2sustain, our Cape Verdean organization, local organizations like the vets and the heritage. We’re working with different schools. We’re working with the state and the local authorities. We are working with several established foundations that are known for giving, for supporting arts and culture, but we desperately need to tap into more resources. Just to give you an example to where we’re kind of behemoth we’re dealing with most theaters of this nature, of the size and scope cost roughly between $20 million to $30 million.
NBL: And how much of that money has been raised so far?
AL: We are so far at $3 million. I believe it’s probably going to cost around $12 million. The work that’s expected from me, most project managers or executive directors that tackle such work, such projects have a salary above six figure, and they, you know, I get a fraction of that. But then you say, ‘Well, why would I want to receive a lower amount?’ It’s because I believe in this project, and I know the association doesn’t have that kind of money. Hopefully someday we will. Right now we don’t.
Crystal Yormick is a freelancer and a frequent contributor to The New Bedford Light. Email her at cyormick@newbedfordlight.org.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Absolutely needed. The Arts in rich our culture.