From artist Mark Vallen's weblog: www.art-for-a-change.com/blog
Self Help Graphics Finished?
Friday, June 17, 2005

Self Help Graphics, East Los Angeles’ venerable institution dedicated to Chicano art, printmaking and grassroots community arts in general, was closed on June 7th, 2005. The artistic heart of Chicano LA beats no more. Amazingly enough, it was the organization’s own "Board of Directors" that closed the doors of SHG to the public, changed the locks on the building to bar staff and artists from entering, and locked-up the parking lot used by visitors and community members alike.
While I was aware that there were problems brewing at SHG, its closure comes as a complete shock to me, and to many other artists, activists, and community members. I have exhibited my artworks at SHG, and I have prints and other artworks in its Tienda Colores giftshop. But it’s not being deprived of a venue at which to exhibit that I find so upsetting, more importantly - the Chicano community in particular and Los Angeles in general, has lost one of its premiere arts institutions. Founded in the late 1960’s by Sister Karen Baccalero, Self Help Graphics quickly established itself as the center of artistic production for the people of East L.A., and has remained one of the most important community arts centers in the nation. Its Galeria Otra Vez has been a showcase for local and national artists, playing an essential role in bringing Chicano/Latino art into the mainstream. As a non-profit organization SHG offered several important youth art programs and writing workshops. They maintained a print making atelier and collection of hand made prints that rival any collection of Chicano art in the country, and their annual print exhibit and auction was always a huge community event. One of the most popular festivals in East Los Angeles was held at SHG, the annual Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead celebration. Based on the ancient Aztec revelry that honored the dead, the community event took place every November 2nd, with a procession of costumed participants that culminated in an art exhibit and craft fair replete with traditional music, entertainment and food. To say that Self Help Graphics helped to launch an artistic renaissance is an understatement.

While trouble was brewing just beneath the surface, it became apparent to all when Self Help’s executive director, Tomas Benitez, submitted his resignation on December 2004. His resignation was formally accepted by the "Board of Directors" on June 7th, who then made the unprecedented move of completely shutting down the institution. The mission of any board of directors is to protect, promote, nurture, and expand the body it presides over… not to kill it. No matter what difficulties they face, a proper Board of Directors will do everything within its power to preserve what has been entrusted to them. Which begs the question… just who are the people sitting on the Board of Directors for Self Help and what exactly have they done for the institution? If financial woes were the core problem faced by the board, why did they not make a direct appeal to the people, artists, foundations, and various supporters for help? If the Board of Directors had an understanding of the actual historic significance of Self Help Graphics, if they grasped the importance of such a cultural center, if they had any respect or empathy for the arts or for artists… in short, if they had any integrity, they would have done everything in their own power to keep Self Help Graphics afloat, up to and including using their own financial resources. Instead, they chose to strangle the life out of this most revered establishment.

Now is the time for action, an occasion for all who have ever benefited from the good works of Self Help Graphics to rise in its defense. It is the artists and people of Los Angeles who built SHG, we are the ones who kept it alive and vibrant, and we are the ones who will defend and resurrect it. The Board of Directors may have chained the gates and locked the doors, but the demise of Self Help Graphics will only come about when it is abandoned by the people and the artists. It is a crime to wrap a community arts center in chains, and the way forward is to sweep away the Board of Directors as it is presently constituted. The struggle for cultural democracy is "on" in Los Angeles, and all are invited to become active, as it’s said - "use it or lose it". Having taken the unwarranted and extreme measure of closing Self Help Graphics, the Board of Directors now wants a community meeting to "discuss the state of the organization", which seems an odd thing given that they’ve obviously made up their minds as to the direction of the institution. We should all take this opportunity to demand the immediate reopening of Self Help Graphics as well as the removal of its abysmal Board of Directors. The meeting will take place at Ave 50 Studio in Highland Park, Tuesday, June 28th, at 7:00 pm. (location: 131 N. Avenue 50 (Figueroa).

The Los Angeles Times did a story on the crisis at Self Help Graphics. That story appears in the Saturday, June 18th edition of the paper ("California" section). The story is eleven paragraphs long, and only one paragraph (the smallest - one sentence in
length), alludes to the fact that all is not well at SHG. That sentence reads: "News of the closure has elicited strong responses from artists and others." The rest of the story is devoted to presenting the Board of Directors view of the crisis. Basically it is an interview with Oralia Michel, a board member and now apparently the official spokesperson for the board. UCLA Professor, Chon Noriega, who directs the Chicano Studies Research Center on that campus, is mentioned in another paragraph, saying that "Self Help could be revitalized if artists would rally behind it, set reasonable expectations and hold it accountable", which basically is the position of those now standing outside the locked gates of Self Help. It should be added that this goal can only be achieved by getting rid of the present Board of Directors. The entire affair sounds very much like what happened to Pacifica Radio a few years ago... it was seized by a Board of Directors who wanted the station to go "mainstream", they fired over 300 programmers, they banned Amy Goodman, and they locked out staff members. Pacifica was finally brought back to its original mission statement only when the community rose up and booted out the old corporate Board of Directors. The same must apparently happen at Self Help Graphics.

The Board of Directors has called for a public meeting at Ave 50 Studio in Highland Park, Tuesday, June 28th, at 7:00 pm. (location: 131 N. Avenue 50 (Figueroa). That will certainly be a step forward in resolving the crisis, but artists, activists, and community members/leaders should meet prior to that, in order to strategize on how exactly Self Help can be revitalized. People should be aware that the Board of Directors will shape the agenda of the Ave 50 meeting, and will use the meeting to their own ends. As already demonstrated through locking up SHG, they have little regard for this most enlightened cultural institution.

A demonstration and picket line is being planned outside of SHG that will take place sometime within the next couple of weeks. Watch this space for details when they become available. Details on an artists meeting prior to the 28th, will also be posted here. Please attend the mass meeting on the 28th at Ave 50 Studio... where artists, activists, and community members will have the opportunity to hold the Board of Directors of SHG accountable for their actions.

Reopen Self Help Graphics Now! ¡Vamos con todo por el cambio!

Read June 18, 2005 L.A. Times, Page B3

EAST L.A. ARTS CENTER CLOSES
by L.A. TIMES Suzanne Muchnic

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-selfhelp18jun18,1,5091217.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true