ARTS ENGAGEMENT & EDUCATION

art Workshops

Self Help Graphics & Art is one of few places in Los Angeles that offers artists a space where they can develop artistically in a peer to peer setting. Our workshops attract all levels of artists to work in a variety of mediums such as intaglio, relief, screen printing, ceramics, aerosol art, and many other forms.

PROFESSIONAL PRINTMAKING PROGRAM

Self Help Graphics & Art’s (SHG) acclaimed Professional Printmaking Program offers artists the opportunity to create fine art limited edition serigraphs & monoprints through a peer-led approach that is dedicated to providing an environment that nurtures and supports our artists’ creativity and careers.

ARTIST MERCADITOS

In support of local artists, Self Help Graphics & Art holds multiple craft and art fairs that feature fine art, prints, adorable and distinctive art, jewelry, housewares, clothing and crafts by local artists and artisans.

Cultural & Annual events

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS

Self Help Graphics & Art is known for its popular and culturally relevant events such as the longest running (45+ years) and free Annual Día de los Muertos celebration, which draws over 10,000 people to its festivities; it’s Holiday Marketplace; and its one-day-only Annual Print Fair & Exhibition, which happens every last weekend in June.

ANNUAL EXHIBITIONS

The Annual Print Fair & Exhibition is a highly anticipated showcase filled with panel presentations, demonstrations, and an opportunity for artists that have participated through Self Help Graphics & Art’s Professional Printmaking Program to show off their work created throughout the year.

BiEnnial Printmaking summit & Fair

The Printmaking Summit’s mission is to build bridges among master printers, emerging and seasoned artists, as well as aspiring youth toward a solid foundation in printmaking.

In 2017, SHG inaugurated the Printmaking Summit to engage local printmakers at all skill levels to network and skill-share with like-minded individuals, and to honor legendary printmakers who had passed, including Richard Duardo, Sam Baray, Fernando Salicrup and Sam Coronado.

2019’s Printmaking Summit featured an exciting lineup of artists, printmakers and arts administrators to foster ideas and spark dialogue, in areas such as printmaking techniques and career pathways. The three day event held demonstrations, workshops, panel discussions and artist talks focused on the role printmaking in today’s creative economy for students, emerging artists and skilled national printmakers.

Stay tuned for our next Printmaking Summit in 2021.

Past Summits:

https://www.selfhelpgraphics.com/printmaking-summit-2017

youth & community outreach

BARRIO MOBILE ART STUDIO

The Barrio Mobile Art Studio (BMAS) was founded as a program that works towards equity and social justice through art. SHG’s BMAS mission is to nurture emerging artists and present Latino art to a broad audience and address the vast demographic that is Los Angeles, while also expanding audiences and community beyond East Los Angeles.

Soy Artista

S.O.Y. Artista is a free five-week (60 hour) summer art-training workshop for local youths (12-24 years old) from underserved communities of East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and the greater LA area who are recruited from local youth groups, schools, and other community centers. This youth program’s goal is to fortify and expand the use and access to art through Self Help’s facilities and resources.

Achievements

• Produced largest collection of Chicano/Latino fine art prints in history.

• Produced the longest running, free, artist-led Día de los Muertos celebration in the U.S.

• Traveled more exhibitions of Chicano/Latino Art across the country and around the world, including Mexico, Africa, Europe, Australia and Latin America.

• Recent Grant Awards:

- Ford Foundation
- Mike Kelley Foundation
- Parsons Foundation
- California Arts Council
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Vernon Community Fund
- Los Angeles County Art Commission
- National Association of Latino Art & Culture
- Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs

• Exhibits work in major museums across the U.S. including LACMA, Autry National Center, Museum of Latin American Art, Fowler Museum, Hammer Museum, Mexican Museum in San Francisco, Museo del Barrio, Museum of Modern Art, National Mexican Museum of Art, Museum of Art and History in Anchorage, and the Museum of South Texas.

Community Impact

Self Help Graphics by the numbers in 2018:

• 30,142 Community members

• 6,793 Youth served (ages 5 - 24)

• 131 Individual Workshops

• 3 Marketplaces provide economic support to artists and local economy

• 6 City Council Districts

• 4 County Districts

• 4 Statewide art activations

• 19 - Prints published through Professional Printmaking Program

• 3 - Special projects published in collaboration with Los Angeles artists

• 6 on-site exhibitions

• 15 off-site exhibitions (totaling 150+ prints published by SHG by more than 100 artists)

Beyond a building, Self Help Graphics provides creative workforce development to our local youth and is as a cultural resource to dozens of partners across the city. Most recently, Self Help Graphics housed an art-making party for the historic Women's March in Los Angeles, opening our doors to almost 1,000 visitors who created posters and banners.