Galerã a De La Raza Archives
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf267nb24r No online items Galería De La Raza Archives CEMA 4 Finding aid prepared by Project Archivist: Salvador Güereña Principal Processor: Zuoyue Wang (1995) Alexander Hauschild (2001) Serigraph Processors: Victor Alexander Muñoz, Naomi Ramieri-Hall, María Velasco Additional Team Members (1990-1995): Project Consultant: Dr. Ramón Favela Curatorial Support: Zaneta Kosiba-Vargas, Rosemarie León, María Velasco Principal Slide Processors: Marko Dorantes, Zaneta Kosiba-Vargas, Genevieve Soto-Lee Graduate Student Support: Paul Anderson, Rebel McKinley, Bret Schmoll Student Assistants: Heather Adkins, Lisa Goto, Vellaurit Rivera, Alex Ruiz, Romelia Salinas, Sandra Sandoval, Arthur Whang, Marco Villalobos, Chance Williams, Oralia Loza, Diana Albay, Brenda L. Márquez, Tara Angioletti; updated by Callie Bowdish and Mari Khasmanyan (2012) UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California, 93106-9010 Phone: (805) 893-3062 Email: [email protected]; URL: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/special-collections © 2006 Galería De La Raza Archives CEMA 4 1 CEMA 4 Title: Galería De La Raza Archives Identifier/Call Number: CEMA 4 Contributing Institution: UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Collections Language of Material: English Physical Description: 37.5 linear feet(90 boxes - 23 flat boxes, 8 photo albums, 59 document boxes, 10 slide boxes and posters) Date (inclusive): 1969-2000 Abstract: Administrative records, programs, subject files, correspondence, clippings, slides, photographs, serigraphs, posters, silkscreen prints, ephemera and other creative materials documenting activities of the San Francisco Bay Area Chicano cultural arts center. Includes work by many of the prominent Chicano(a)/Latino(a) artists, such as Juana Alicia, Rodolfo (Rudy) Cuellar, Alfredo De Batuc, Ricardo Favela, Gilbert Luján (Magu), Ralph Maradiaga, Juanishi Orosco, Irene Pérez, Patricia Rodríguez, and René Yañez. (CEMA 4). Physical location: Del Norte General Physical Description note: 37.5 linear feet, 90 boxes, ten albums of 2,737 slides, and 479 silkscreen prints and posters Access Restrictions Written authorization from La Galería de la Raza needed for duplication of any portion of the collection. Being amended by GDLR to conform to standard language used now. Use Restrictions Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained. Preferred Citation CEMA 4, Department of Special Collections, University Library, University of California, Santa Barbara. Acquisition Information Donated by Galería de la Raza, 1986 Organizational History Galería de la Raza (GDLR) is a non-profit community arts organization that promotes Chicano and Latino art and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Founded in 1970, the GDLR was, like many other such centros, a product of the Chicano civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The movement called for artistic emphasis on everyday lives and on community activities of the Chicano/Latino people. These principles guided the GDLR and set it apart from mainstream art organizations in terms of philosophy and organization. Throughout its history, the GDLR has striven not only to make art accessible to the community, especially in the largely Chicano/Latino Mission District of San Francisco, but also to involve the public in the very creation of art works. The origin of the GDLR can be traced to a Spring 1969 exhibition in Oakland, "New Symbols for La Nueva Raza," by the Mexican American Liberation Art Front (MALAF). Aimed at "integrating art into the Chicano social revolution sweeping the country," MALAF brought together four Chicano/Latino artists, Esteban Villa, Manuel Hernandez, Malaquias Montoya, and René Yañez. In 1970, a larger group established the Galería de la Raza as an artistic collective, on 14th Street in San Francisco's Mission District. Members of that group included Rupert García, Peter Rodríguez, Francisco Camplis, Peter Rodriguez, Graciela Carrillo, Jerry Concha, Gustavo Ramos Rivera, Carlos Loarca, Manuelo Villamor, Robert González, Luis Cervantez, Chuy Campusano, Rolando Castellón, Ralph Maradiaga, and René Yañez. Later, Maradiaga became the administrative director and Yañez the artistic director. In 1972, GDLR moved to its present location on 24th Street at Bryant Street in the Mission District. In 1985, Humberto Cintrón became administrative director following Maradiaga's death. Enrique Chagoya succeeded Yañez in 1987 as artistic director. In 1990, María Pinedo became executive director of the GDLR, and was succeeded in 1993 by Liz Lerma. She was followed by Gloria Jaramillo in 1995, and by Carolina Ponce de Leon in 1999. In its first decade, the GDLR devoted itself to reclaiming the images and practices of popular Mexican/Latino traditions. It helped introduce and popularize the Mexican artist and political activist Frida Kahlo and the celebration of El Día de los Muertos ("The Day of the Dead"). In 1980, the GDLR started its second decade with the founding of Studio 24, a gift store. Studio 24 has served as a means to generate revenue for the GDLR in face of cuts in federal funds for arts, and as an experiment in a new form of community art organization. During the 1980s, the GDLR expanded its international coverage, with exhibitions on the crises in South Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America. The GDLR has in the early 1990s further expanded its commitment to the Chicano/Latino community by focusing on not only race, but also gender and sexual identity. In 1995, the GDLR launched the (Re)Generation Project with a variety Galería De La Raza Archives CEMA 4 2 CEMA 4 of programs, to celebrate its 25th anniversary and to promote inter-generational dialogs among Chicano(a)/Latino(a) artists. Also that year it mounted a retrospective exhibition "The Defiant Eye" at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens, curated by Teresita Romo. Scope and Content of Collection The Galería de la Raza Collection (GDLR) consists of nine series distributed among 68 archival boxes that occupy about 37.5 linear feet of space. Also, there are 479 silkscreen prints, housed in flat metal cabinets, and 2,737 slides slides in 10 albums. There are separate guides to the silkscreen prints and the slides. The archival material includes business records, grant applications, exhibition descriptions and flyers, correspondence, miscellaneous publications and photographs. They cover the period of 1969-1996. The early years of the GDLR are minimally represented due to fire loss and accidental disposal prior to their arrival in CEMA. The collection is divided into nine series. Within each series, folders (and boxes) generally follow the alphabetical order of the titles that were assigned to them by the GDLR. Folders with the same subject are usually arranged either alphabetically or chronologically Series Description Series I: Administrative Records, 1971-1985. The series consists of two subseries and is housed in 13 archival boxes. The first subseries, History, Staff, and Organization 1971-1985, includes documents from the earliest period of the GDLR, information about its staff, and several re-organization efforts. The second subseries, Business and Financial Records, 1976-1984, consists of tax returns, budgets, some business transactions, and payroll journals. The records provide information about the efforts by the GDLR and Studio 24 to develop a self-sustaining route as a non-profit community arts organization. The third subseries, Grants, 1976-1986, includes grant applications and award (or rejection) letters that document the successes and failures of the GDLR in seeking support from governmental funding agencies and private philanthropies. The National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council were among the major sources of such grants. Most of the grant applications were for GDLR's own projects and programs. Sometimes, GDLR acted as fiscal agent to apply for grants on behalf of other organizations or individuals. In those cases, the folder titles identify these organizations and individuals, in contrast to the majority of folders in this subseries where titles follow the funding agencies. The grant applications usually include valuable information about the GDLR’s activities as GDLR summarized its various programs in the grant proposal narratives. Series II: Programs, 1968-1989. The second series consists of three subseries. The first subseries, Exhibitions, 1968-1989, is the largest subseries and the heart of the archival material in the collection. It encompasses a variety of materials associated with the set up of exhibitions at GDLR, including correspondence, floor plans, brochures and flyers, exhibition catalogs, photographs of the art works and of the exhibition scenes, introductions, captions, news clippings, and guest comments. They are a rich source of information on the artistic activities at GDLR and beyond. The second subseries Exhibitions Supplement (1982 – 1996) was retrieved in 1999 and expands on the materials related to exhibitions held at Galeria de La Raza. Because of its late retrieval