DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS: A CULTURAL LEGACY, PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

The incredible folks at Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG) have put together an incredible exhibition on Dia De Los Muertos.  SHG has a long track record of helping to promote, celebrate and advance the art and work of minority artists in Southern California.  We’ve been great admirers of their work and can’t wait to visit this facinating exhibition which looks at the evolution this tradition and more generally the celebration of Latino and Chicano culture in Los Angeles.  SHG shares more with us below.

Día de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present & Future is a thought-provoking Day of the Dead exhibition on view from September 17, 2017 through February 24, 2018, curated by Self Help Graphics legacy Artist, Linda Vallejo and Dr. Betty Brown.

Día de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present & Future , will open to the public on Sunday, September 17, 2017 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at SHG, located steps from the Metro Gold Line Pico/Aliso station at 1300 E. 1st St. in Boyle Heights.

Día de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present & Future is part of Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative and will feature three Día de los Muertos ofrendas (offerings) from the past, present and the future by Master Altarista , Ofelia Esparza (past), Tijuana-based artist Altarista Gerardo “Acamonchi” Yepiz (present) and Altarista Marcus Kuiland-Nazario (future); as well as a select number of Día de los Muertos prints, photographs and ephemera from across the four-decade history of SHG’s Día de los Muertos celebrations, broken down into a chronological evolution.

Additionally, the 44th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration fine art limited edition serigraph, produced by Artist Printmaker Rosalie Lopez , will officially be unveiled at the opening reception.

“This exhibition brings forth a history that is near and dear to my heart and re-establishes Self Help Graphics as a center of creative and spiritual grounding for the Chicano/Latino community. Dia de los Muertos is a qintessential Southern California celebration that we can’t take for granted. It’s the perfect time to acknowledge the Self Help artists who have been innovators in creating a vibrant cultural event that is now celebrated across the country ,” says Vallejo.

The Self Help Graphics & Art Día de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present & Future curatorial team includes Lead-Curator and Artist Linda Vallejo ; Co-Curator and Emeritus Professor of Art History, California State University Northridge, Dr. Betty Brown ; Professor of Chicano and Latino Studies, University of Minnesota Twin Cities and SHG Board Chair, Dr. Karen Mary Davalos ; SHG Director of Programs, Joel Garcia ; and SHG Associate Director, Betty Avila . Catalog contributors include Dr. Betty Brown, Dr. Karen Mary Davalos, Marietta Bernstorff and Rose Salseda.

As an official Getty Foundation Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA exhibition site, SHG will present Día de los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present & Future to explore the evolution of the celebration in Los Angeles and the foundational transnational dialogue between the Chicano/Latino community and Mexico that continues to shape the tradition celebrated on both sides of the border. SHG will step away from the cultural appropriation that has repackaged this tradition to examine its Mexican and Central American roots, presenting a future-focused exhibition supported by educational programming, including historically researched essay and lectures, artist panel discussion, family-friendly tours, and a catalog to encourage discourse between Los Angeles and border cities such as Tijuana and Mexicali/Calexico.

About Self Help Graphics & Art
Founded in 1970 in the heart of East Los Angeles, Self Help Graphics and Art is dedicated to the production, interpretation and distribution of prints and other art media by Chicana/o and Latina/o artists. Its multi-disciplinary, inter-generational programs promote artistic excellence and empower community by providing access to working space, tools, training and capital.