Self-Help Graphics

Self-Help Graphics
Name	Self-Help Graphics
Formation	1970
Founders	Wendy Diaz, David García, José Montoya, Daniela Varela
Type	Community arts nonprofit
Headquarters	East Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Region served	California
Services	Arts education, printmaking, cultural programming

Self-Help Graphics is a community-based arts organization founded in 1970 in East Los Angeles that became a focal point for Chicano and Latino arts, printmaking, and cultural activism. The organization developed programs linking visual arts, poetry, theater, and music with civic movements, collaborating with artists, activists, and institutions across Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Chicago. Over decades it engaged with municipal agencies, cultural centers, and festivals such as Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Endowment for the Arts, Festival de las Americas, and neighborhood initiatives.

History

Self-Help Graphics traces roots to community arts movements in the 1960s and 1970s alongside groups like United Farm Workers, Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, and cultural centers such as Centro de Arte Público. Early organizers drew inspiration from print workshops including Taller Boricua, Taller de Gráfica Popular, and collaborations with figures associated with Chicano Movement activism. The organization’s formative years featured alliances with artists and writers linked to Asamblea de la Raza, MEChA, and labor struggles, while engaging with civic leaders from Los Angeles City Council and fundraising networks that included California Arts Council. Landmark events connected the group with exhibitions at venues like MOCA and partnerships with community health campaigns tied to East Los Angeles Riot (1970) commemoration projects.

Mission and Programs

The mission prioritizes arts access, cultural preservation, and youth development, aligning programmatically with community partners including LAUSD, California State University, Los Angeles, and neighborhood nonprofits like Eastside Café. Educational offerings mirror models from institutions such as ArtCenter College of Design and incorporate printmaking techniques descended from Mexican muralism practitioners associated with Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and José Clemente Orozco. Programmatic strands have included print workshops, residencies modeled on Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, festival production akin to Noche de los Rábanos logistics, and advocacy campaigns paralleling efforts by ACLU and NAACP-affiliated cultural programs. Funding and governance have interfaced with foundations such as Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and municipal arts commissions.

Art and Cultural Impact

The organization influenced the visual language of Chicano art through collaborations with muralists, printmakers, and poets who also connected to movements around Zapatismo, Nicanor Parra, and transnational solidarity networks. Its prints and posters circulated alongside cultural artifacts from Chicano Moratorium, La Raza Unida Party, and community celebrations like Cinco de Mayo events transformed by grassroots cultural reframing. Exhibitions and public art projects engaged curators and scholars from Getty Research Institute, Smithsonian Institution, California African American Museum, and critics writing for outlets such as LA Weekly and Artforum. The aesthetic legacy is visible in collections and retrospectives at institutions including Whitney Museum of American Art, Hammer Museum, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Community Engagement and Education

Community outreach emphasized youth workshops, intergenerational pedagogy, and partnerships with schools and service organizations like Special Olympics, YMCA, and community health centers. Educational curricula incorporated literary collaborations with poets tied to Nuyorican Poets Cafe, César Chávez-era organizing, and teacher-training modules influenced by pedagogy from Paulo Freire-inspired programs hosted at universities such as UCLA, USC, and University of California, Berkeley. Public programs included Día de los Muertos celebrations, neighborhood festivals coordinated with Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and participatory projects similar to those organized by Public Art Fund and Creative Time.

Publications and Exhibitions

The group produced posters, portfolios, and catalogues that entered archives and special collections at repositories including Bancroft Library, Getty Research Institute, and university presses like University of California Press. Exhibitions were mounted in collaboration with galleries and museums such as LACMA, MOCA, Fowler Museum at UCLA, and touring shows that reached Smithsonian American Art Museum and regional venues across Texas and Arizona. Published works featured essays by critics and scholars associated with Chon A. Noriega, Amalia Mesa-Bains, and anthologies edited in the tradition of texts released by Verso Books and Duke University Press.

Notable Artists and Collaborations

Artists and collaborators associated through workshops, residencies, and exhibitions include muralists and printmakers linked to figures like Frank Romero, Carlos Almaraz, Judith Baca, Gronk, Patssi Valdez, Tierra Whack, and poets and writers such as Luis Valdez, Rudolfo Anaya, Ana Castillo, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Lorna Dee Cervantes. Collaborative projects reached into networks including choreographers connected to Alonzo King, musicians affiliated with Los Lobos, and curators and scholars like Teresita Fernández and Rudolph Delson who have staged contemporary shows. Institutional partnerships and visiting artists have also included exchanges with Taller de Gráfica Popular alumni, printmakers from Taller Puertorriqueño, and cross-disciplinary projects engaging filmmakers associated with Luis Valdez (film director), theater ensembles like El Teatro Campesino, and arts educators from CalArts.

Category:Arts organizations based in Los Angeles