Welcoming visitors at the Fifth Avenue entrance to Central Park stands a new sculpture, “Graft” by Puerto Rican artist Edra Soto. “Graft” is part of a series of installations by Ms. Soto that brings to life the exploration of the relationship between our private lives and what we choose to share with the world. The four screens are sculpted out of corten steel and terrazzo, which are inspired by rejas, or iron screens commonly seen outside of homes in Puerto Rico. The rejas replicate geometric patterns that may be traced back to West Africa’s symbol systems known as Yoruba and pay homage to the island’s Black heritage which is often overlooked by Puerto Rico’s Spanish Colonial history and architecture.

Visitors can stand on the outside of the sculpture, peering across towards the park, or on the inside, where they are invited to sit at tables and seating that mirror the welcoming interior of a home in Puerto Rico. By welcoming us inside, Soto invites New Yorkers to connect to Puerto Rico and its communities across the city.

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the stately and imposing Central Park Arsenal, designed by the architect Martin Thompson plays host to “Las flores de mi país” (The Flowers of My Country), an art exhibit created in collaboration with the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Latino Society and its Art and Antiquities Division showcasing the works of Hispanic artists.

Nestled on the third floor of the Annex, in between offices and conference rooms of the headquarters of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, “Las flores de mi país” welcomes the public. “Las flores de mi país” is a wide-ranging and vibrant exhibition centering around plants, nature, and the power of home and heritage. Featuring photographs, paintings, sculpture, and mixed media creations, the theme of the show rotates around the beauty and culture of a homeland, and occasionally, the pain of leaving it behind. Works by more than twenty Latinx artists who hail from a variety of Caribbean, South, and Central American nations (including Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador) dot the walls, with great splashes of color and large floral canvases dominating the space. Of particular note are a series of nine paintings by artist Daniel Delvalle, whose day job as a gardener for NYC Parks is immediately apparent in his perceptive and beautiful floral expressions.

“Las flores de mi país” is on view and free to the public through November 10, 2022, in the Arsenal Gallery.