Arte Público Press

• Parent — University of Houston • Founded — 1979 • Founder — Nicolás Kanellos • Successor — Gabriela Baeza • Country — United States • Headquarters — Houston • Publications — Books • Imprints — Piñata • Url — http: www.artepublicopress.com

Arte Público was founded in 1979 by its former director, Nicolás Kanellos, who taught Hispanic literature at Indiana University Northwest during the Chicano Movement. Already having established himself as co-founder and editor of Revista Chicana-Riqueña since 1973, he was motivated by communal concern regarding publishing accessibility. In 1980, he accepted a position at the University of Houston, which integrated Arte Público. In 1990, Arte Público launched the "Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage" project in order to recover, index and publish lost Latino writings dating from the American colonial period to 1960. By 1991, the press published approximately 25 books annually, with about 40% of their material being used as textbooks. In 1994, they created Piñata Books, their children's and young adult literature imprint. By 1997, it published 20 books. Arte Público Press was honored with the 2018 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award given by the National Book Critics Circle Award for their work in publishing Latino authors. In August 2025, Gabriela Baeza was appointed Director of Arte Público Press, succeeding founder Nicolás Kanellos. She has been affiliated with Arte Público Press for several decades, contributing to its mission of promoting Latino and Hispanic literature in the United States. The press is a member of the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP).

In 1990 an initial meeting was held to establish Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage, also known as The Recovery Project. This project seeks to recover and expand access to manuscripts and printed materials created by Hispanics in the United States from colonial times to 1960. The Rockefeller Foundation funded the initial meeting and the first decade of operation, along with numerous other foundations including Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Houston Endowment Inc., and the Ford Foundation. Over 18,000 pamphlets and books written by Hispanics have been located. 1,000 books have been digitized, and over 500,000 literary items have been digitized from 1,700 periodicals.

• Lamberto Alvarez • C. Ondine Chavoya • Victor Villaseñor • Nicholasa Mohr • Luis Valdez • Miguel Piñero • Sandra Cisneros • Julia Alvarez • Helena Maria Viramontes • Sergio Troncoso • Miguel Algarín • Graciela Limón • Gwendolyn Zepeda • Daniel Olivas • Daniel Chacón, • Pat Mora • Richard A. Tapia • José Ángel Gutiérrez

Arte Público Press is recorded as founded by Nicolás Kanellos. Associated with United States. Recorded from 1979.