'Art Happens Here with John Lithgow' Featuring Self Help Graphics Airs on PBS SoCal April 26

John Lithgow admires a collaborative serigraph screen with Self Help Graphics youth artist, Yolitzli Torres. Photo courtesy of PBS SoCal.

Self Help Graphics & Art is proud to announce that it will be featured in the upcoming debut episode of PBS SoCal’s show, ART HAPPENS HERE WITH JOHN LITHGOW, airing during PBS SoCal prime time on Friday, April 26 at 10:00 p.m. EST/PST or 9:00 p.m. CST (check your local listings for more info)!

“We are thrilled to be featured as part of the debut episode of Art Happens Here on PBS SoCal, which explores the importance of arts education,” says Executive Director, Jennifer Cuevas. “At Self Help Graphics, accessibility to arts education aligns deeply with our values, to support the development of young artists and advancement of an artist’s artistic practice, at any stage in their career. Art has the ability to transform lives and in this episode, you can see the great benefits of bringing arts education to young people.”

Artivism in the Print Studio

In this segment, John Lithgow visits Self Help Graphics’ print studio in Boyle Heights to learn the art and craft of printmaking, from Master Printer, Dewey Tafoya and youth artist, Yolitzli Torres. They meet at Mariachi Plaza where John and Yolitzli inspired to collaborate on a print. “I had an incredible time filming the episode and working with John Lithgow… Creating art at Self Help Graphics was an integral part of my artistic evolution from my adolescence to the present. It is a space where I feel comfortable, safe, and supported. It is somewhere I go to find inspiration and motivation from the art pieces to the artists themselves. It is one of the very few institutions with a strong cultural and social justice lens that I am honored to be connected to,” says Yolitzli Torres.

Transformation Through Art

ART HAPPENS HERE WITH JOHN LITHGOW follows the award-winning actor as he shares his passion or arts education by joining students and teachers at four Los Angeles organizations, diving into four arts disciplines: dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz ensemble. Celebrating how arts education nurtures and inspires the hearts and minds of students of all ages, the one-hour PBS special follows Lithgow as he tries his hand at singing, dancing, printmaking, and pottery, working alongside and learning from young people whose lives are being transformed by art.

ART HAPPENS HERE WITH JOHN LITHGOW will be available to stream on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. Learn more here.