Exploring the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives with Self Help Graphics
By: Laura Villaseñor
On Monday, July 25, the Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG) team took a trip to UC Santa Barbara and the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA), where the organization’s archives are stored. Self Help Graphics has long been partnered with the UC Santa Barbara Library (since 1986).
CEMA was created with the purpose of dedicating an archival space for marginalized communities throughout California. Focused on accessibility to research and study materials, CEMA has been committed to the preservation of significant cultural pieces. The archival space holds several thousand collections which include items such as art, music, artifacts, and other ephemera.
The team met with Library Curator Angel Diaz, who had hand-picked a selection of SHG fine prints and other items relevant to the establishment of Self Help Graphics. The library is located in the southern part of the campus and is a large gray multi-storied building lined with many windows. The team was led into the third floor seminar room, where classes in the library are usually held. There the SHG team met with Angel, who had hand picked a collection of prints, original artworks, and ephemera for the team to see.
In addition to seeing archival pieces, Angel also gave the team a tour of the library and a behind-the-scenes tour of its archival storage spaces. The building houses rows of bookshelf storage and cabinetry, all maintained at a temperature of about 65 degrees F for the integrity of the pieces. The two floors that the team toured were organized both alphabetically and by format. There were sections for books, larger film items, small ephemera, and pull out flat-file cabinets for works, such as those from Self Help Graphics.
CEMA houses thousands of collections, including many artworks created by Self Help Graphics artists and its collaborators throughout the years; as well as ephemera dating back to the organization's inception. The SHG team was able to see several fine prints selected by Angel; including original paintings, as well as a selection of Co-Founder Sister Karen's personal art collection that includes both her works, and the works of her contemporaries, that the library acquired.
CEMA Honors 50 Years of Self Help Graphics
From October 25, 2023-June 21, 2024 the UC Santa Barbara library will open an exhibition titled Cultura Cura, featuring serigraph prints developed through Self Help Graphics’ Professional Printmaking Program. Cultura Cura literally translates to a culture of healing, which is a value that sits at the heart of Self Help Graphics. SHG aims to inspire community healing through creative expression and the mantra of la cultura cura plays a large role in fostering that healing. The exhibition aims to show how the organization has used art as a transformative tool throughout its 50 year history. The exhibition will highlight how the organization has been able to cultivate a safe space for artistic expression and visibility for marginalized communities. Cultura Cura will honor the great impact the organization has made in its arts community in East LA and beyond. Learn more about the exhibition here. RSVP for the opening reception on October 25, 2023 here.
About CEMA
At the time of its founding in 1988, the California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives (CEMA) at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) Library was the first of its kind in the state: an academic repository for archival materials that focused on ethnic studies. Our goals have remained the same, to support the study of the ethnic and racial diversity of California through the documentation and preservation of archival materials that represent Chicanos/Chicanas/Chicanx and Latinx, Asian Americans, African Americans, and Native Americans. We know the stories of marginalized communities matter, especially as told by community members themselves, and CEMA has endeavored to ensure that these rich histories and perspectives are preserved. Self Help Graphics, along with the Ana Castillo papers, Oscar Zeta Acosta papers, Galeria de la Raza archives, and El Teatro Campesino archives were our founding archival collections. Since its inception, CEMA has been a resource for academic scholars, art historians and curators, students, and communities across the globe.
Laura Villaseñor is Self Help Graphics & Art’s Los Angeles County Department of Arts And Culture Summer-Fall Arts Journalism and PR Intern. They are a rising senior student at Reed College, majoring in English.