News from the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center

So much is happening over at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC). Here are but a few news items from the CSRC Director, Chon A. Noriega:

• After nearly forty years at 3802 César E. Chávez Avenue, Self Help Graphics & Art is relocating. On April 2, the organization will move to 1300 1st Street in Boyle Heights, where it will be part of a new arts district. Self Help Graphics is a CSRC community partner, as well as the subject of Self Help Graphics & Art: Art in the Heart of East Los Angeles. This award-winning book, edited by Colin Gunckel and featuring an essay by Kristen Guzman, was published by the CSRC Press in 2005. "Self Help Graphics & Art is a movement, not a building," says Executive Director Evonne Gallardo. "While we love and respect the heritage of the César Chávez building, our move is inspired by a legacy of resiliency and independence that started with Sister Karen."

• In a presentation at Los Angeles City Hall on February 25, Councilwoman Jan Perry recognized the CSRC and UCLA’s three other ethnic studies centers for their forty-year history and outstanding work. Councilwoman Perry presented each of the ethnic studies centers with proclamations. For a video clip of the event, visit the Los Angeles City Council website.

• Chon A. Noriega is this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Latino/a Cultural Arts, Literary Arts, and Publications Award, presented annually by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education. Dr. Noriega was honored on March 5 in San Antonio, at the association’s annual conference.

• Opening at the Fowler Museum on September 25 is Oscar Castillo: Icons of the Invisible. This exhibition will present the photographs of Oscar Castillo, who has documented L.A.’s Chicano community since the late 1960s. Mapping Another L.A.: The Chicano Art Movement, which opens on October 16, will explore the work of nine groundbreaking L.A. Chicano arts groups and organizations: Asco, Los Four, Self Help Graphics and Art, Mechicano Art Center, Los Dos Streetscapers, SPARC, Centro de Arte Público, Plaza de la Raza, and Goez Art Studio and Gallery. The Fowler Museum’s press releases are available on the CSRC website.

• “Ethnic Studies Now! at UCLA and Beyond,” a symposium focusing on the importance of ethnic studies, will be held today, 2:30 p.m., in the UCLA Ackerman Grand Ballroom. Participants will discuss the challenges ethnic studies departments face, the movement for diversity in the general education curriculum at UCLA, and local and national actions to support ethnic studies. The symposium will conclude with a screening at 6:30 p.m. of Mountains That Take Wing: Angela Davis and Yuri Kochiyama—A Conversation on Life, Struggles, and Liberation, a documentary film by C.A. Griffith and H.L.T. Quan of QUAD Productions. All inquiries about the event may be forwarded to Suza Khy at suza.khy@gmail.com.

• The CSRC Library renovation has been completed and reopen its doors on March 9. Until then, the collections continue to be accessible by appointment. For research assistance, or for scheduling an appointment, please contact the CSRC librarian, Lizette Guerra, at lguerra@chicano.ucla.edu.

• The Spring 2011 issue of Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies will be mailed to subscribers later this month. In this issue, essays by Anna Ochoa O’Leary and Andrea J. Romero, Theresa Delgadillo, Ralph Armbruster, and Lydia French consider the role of Chicana/os and Latina/os in private, public, and political life. Subscribe to Aztlán online, through the CSRC online store.

• To learn more about the CSRC, visit the Center’s website, Wikipedia and Facebook pages, or email the CSRC. The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center mailing address is 193 Haines Hall, Box 951544, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1544. Telephone: (310) 825-2363; Facsimile: (310) 206-1784.