Chicano Park Mural Online Exhibition
In partnership with the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center, and USD's own Department of Ethnic Studies, University Galleries is proud to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Chicano Park. Cesar Castañeda, a talented young artist and admired curator who is based in the Logan Heights/Barrio Logan community, guest curated an online exhibition for the Humanities Center Gallery.
Working closely with Professor of Ethnic Studies Alberto Pulido, PhD and Josie Talamantez, founder and chair of the Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center, we assembled a majority of the posters that were created to celebrate Chicano Park Day. A selection of those graphic works was scheduled to open on March 30, 2019, but due to public health concerns associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, all of the involved parties agreed it made sense to postpone the physical exhibition of this work. With great respect for the artists involved, we are happy to share this online version of the exhibition, together with Cesar's curatorial introduction.
The outdoor murals in San Diego's Chicano Park — the largest collection in the United States — give powerful form to Mexican-Chicano history and culture. More than 70 murals have been painted since 1970, when grassroots activists in the Chicano neighborhood of Logan Heights occupied the area beneath the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. In 2016, the murals — described by one of the original artists as an "open book of our culture, energy and determination as a people" — achieved National Historic Landmark status.
Each year since 1970 Chicano Park Day posters have marked the anniversary of the park's founding. The posters, like the murals, span a range of themes: immigration, social justice, honoring community leaders and celebrating Chicano cultural heritage, to name a few. Over the course of Chicano Park's 50-year history, poster artists have paid homage to the original vision of the muralists while advancing their cause of self-determination.
Past Exhibitions
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Questions? Email dcartwright@sandiego.edu.