So much is happening at UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center!

The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was founded in 1969 with a commitment to foster multidisciplinary research efforts as part of the land grant mission of the University of California. That mission states that University of California research must be in the service of the state and maintain a presence in the local community. If you wish to support CSRC's mission, please visit here.

Since its founding, the CSRC has played a pivotal role in the development of scholarly research on the Chicano-Latino population, which is now the largest minority group and the fastest growing population in the United States. The CSRC is one of four ethnic studies centers established at UCLA in 1969 that are now part of the Institute of American Cultures (IAC), which reports to the Office of the Chancellor at UCLA. The CSRC is also one of four founding members of the national Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR, est. 1983), a consortium of Latino research centers that now includes twenty-five institutions in the United States.

The current CSRC Director is Chon A. Noriega who is a professor in the UCLA Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media and an adjunct curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Prof. Chon A. Noriega

So many wonderful things are happening at, or in conjunction with, the CSRC. Here are but a few items that may be of interest:

Home Opens at LACMA

After four years of extensive research and planning, the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing, featuring artworks by U.S. Latino and Latin American contemporary artists on the subject of home, will open to the public on June 11 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Curated by Chon A. Noriega, Mari Carmen Ramírez, and Pilar Tompkins Rivas, Home is part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA arts initiative. The exhibition has been funded by grants from the Getty Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Pasadena Art Alliance, as well as through support from the L.A. County Arts Commission, Entravision, AltaMed, and individual donors. Home is on view at LACMA through October 15 and then will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A public panel discussion featuring exhibition artists in conversation with Noriega and Tompkins Rivas will take place June 10.

Ortiz to Receive UCLA Medal

The CSRC is thrilled to announce that veteran artist Raphael Montañez Ortiz will receive the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest honor, in a ceremony on campus June 8. Ortiz (b. 1934) gained recognition in the 1960s as one of the leading figures of the Destructivist movement. Perhaps best known for his piano destruction concerts, “Archaeological Finds,” and recycled film and video works, Ortiz employs his art to address issues of religion, indigenousness, ritual, transcendence, mortality, and duality. His artworks are in the collections of major museums, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, and the Menil Collection in Houston. He is currently distinguished professor of visual arts at Rutgers University. In 1969 Ortiz founded El Museo del Barrio, the first Latino art museum in the United States. He will be awarded the UCLA Medal for his achievements in art, education, and social justice. Read the press release here. 

Tobar to Join Faculty at UC Irvine

Héctor Tobar, journalist, educator, and author of the award-winning book Deep Down Dark about the thirty-three men who survived the mine collapse in Chile in 2010, has been appointed associate professor of Chicano/Latino studies and English (literary journalism) at UC Irvine. He begins his appointment this fall. Since 2014, Tobar has been an assistant professor at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. The CSRC has the Héctor Tobar Papers.

Gomez Creates Artworks at Whitney Museum

L.A. artist Ramiro Gomez, who is widely known for cardboard paintings of Latina/o domestic and day laborers, is creating paintings of the janitorial and security staff at the Whitney Museum of American Art from May 30 through June 1. Gomez’s paintings are based on his observations of laborers preparing for the opening of the 2017 Whitney Biennial in March. For more information, click here. Artworks by Gomez are included in the CSRC-organized exhibition Home—So Different, So Appealing, on view at LACMA June 11–October 15, 2017. 

Epstein Presents at Career Conference for Graduate Students

Rebecca Epstein, CSRC communications and academic programs officer, was invited to speak at this year’s UCLA Career Development Conference for Graduate Students and Postdocs, organized by the UCLA Career Center. The conference took place on campus May 4 and was designed to assist graduate students and postdocs seeking alternatives to traditional academic careers. Epstein has a PhD from the UCLA Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media.

CSRC Press: Coming this Summer

Mid-August brings the release of Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell. Produced to accompany the eponymous exhibition opening in mid-September at the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College, the book explores the work of Chicana photographer Laura Aguilar. The catalog is edited by Rebecca Epstein, communications and academic programs officer at the CSRC. The exhibition, curated by Sybil Venegas, is a collaboration between Vincent Price Art Museum and the CSRC. Laura Aguilar: Show and Tell is part of the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative. The catalog will be distributed by University of Washington Press.

 
Opportunities: Call for Papers

Fourth Bi-Annual Sal Castro Memorial Conference on the Emerging Historiography of the Chicano Movement

February 23-24, 2018, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Faculty and graduate students working on historical projects concerning the Chicano movement are invited to submit a 500-word proposal and a short CV to Mario T. Garcia, professor of Chicano and Chicana studies, at garcia@history.ucsb.edu.
Submissions deadline: September 1, 2017.