Documenting Chicana/o and Latinx Art & Activism in Los Angeles

This exhibit is a companion to the exhibition A Call to Action: Documenting Santa Barbara Art & Activism on display in Special Research Collections (Third Floor, Mountain Side).

Started in 1973, Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG) is a community-based artist collective that fosters creative expression with the Los Angeles Chicana/o and Latinx community. Our LA neighbors have contributed thousands of screen prints and posters to Special Research Collections, and these provocative, innovative visual pieces speak to social justice movements through the decades. These works are especially relevant to our current moment in time and provide a window to the past experiences of these artists.

It could be said that Self Help Graphics is one of Special Research Collections’ first community-based collections, one that inspires a collaborative relationship between creators, their work, and archival institutions. Our relationship with SHG is one that strives to support their organization’s mission: “to promote artistic excellence and empower our community.” Community-based art and archives programs center creators and the message behind their work. It is our responsibility to cultivate these important collaborations that preserve and uplift the Chicana/o and Latinx voices of our Los Angeles neighbors.