Self Help Graphics & Art presents two projects for Art Rise/ We Rise 2021. A mural and music composition titled Joy & Resilience, created by SHGs Youth Committee, prompts viewers to step back from the endless scroll of negative news cycles and lean into activities that bring us joy. The second is a short documentary directed by Alvaro Parra titled Vendedores en Acción (Vendors in Action), named after six street coalition members. The film highlights the long-term mental and emotional implications caused by their line of work, their fight to legalize street vending, and by COVID-19.

Joy & Resilience

By SHG Youth Committee

The Self Help Graphics & Art's Youth Committee used reflections shared during SHG's Wellness Wednesday sessions facilitated by artists and educators Audacious IAM and Felicia Montes to inspire a mural and original music composition that reflects stories of healing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mural demonstrates stepping away from the endless scroll of negative news cycles and into activities that bring us joy. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders, the overconsumption of social media has made people's mental health suffer. The Youth Committee wants us to focus on the opposite end of that, on the new hobbies we may have picked up, the walks in our neighborhoods, the exercise routines, anything we've created, listened to or moved our bodies with to uplift our spirits. 

SHG will host two wellness workshops connected to the mural's theme during May, focusing on self-care and community building. SHG Youth Artivism Interns created a mental health resource digital zine listing information about mental health, resources, and self-care tips.

Youth Committee Members
Jacqueline Aguirre, Citlaly Flores, Sonia Maturano, Sabrina Mendoza, Josiah O'Balles, Elizabeth Simon, and Ashley Valle created the visual art component. Fariyan Alam and Andrea Tupas composed the musical piece. 

Youth Artivism Interns
Sophia Garcia, Priscilla Hernandez and, Vanya Navarrete. 

The SHG Youth Committee was founded with support from The California Endowment.

Vendedores en Acción
(Vendors in Action)

directed by Alvaro Parra

About 50,000 street vendors are operating in Los Angeles, 10,000 of whom sell food; 80% are women of color; many are undocumented, refugees from Central America, and seniors. Vendors' anxieties and traumas stem from experiencing police harassment and merchandise or equipment confiscation due to their work's criminalization. 

In September 2018, the statewide act titled Safe Sidewalk Vending passed, winning a decade-long fight to legalize street vending. However, applying for a permit is complicated and challenging to meet its requirements. 

The government banned street vending in March 2020 when the pandemic swept the country. Deportation threats kept many from applying for government support, depleting economic and housing security. Unable to file for unemployment and with limited options, many continued to sell, despite being COVID's most impacted demographic.  

The documentary features the band Quetzal with VEA members singing VEA's anthem in chorus, which lyrics were conceived through a collaborative process facilitated by Quetzal Flores. The filmmaking experience allowed the six vendors to briefly put aside their daily routine and participate in a creative, collective, and empowering process. 

A large-scale mural depicting film stills can be viewed on SHGs street-facing wall on Anderson Ave, along with a QR code directing audiences to the film on YouTube. 

VEA Members: 
Santa Huerta, Yolanda Granados, Faustino Martinez, Belen Ortiz, Caridad Vazquez, and Humberto Yauli

This project is supported in part by the California Arts Council.

Art Rise, part of the WE RISE initiative of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, is a series of 21 art experiences across five Los Angeles neighborhoods created in collaboration with museums, cultural institutions and artists to use the power of art toward collective wellbeing, health and connectedness. For more information, please visit werise.la. 

WE RISE is an initiative of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health that encourages wellbeing and healing through art, connection, community engagement and creative expression. For more information, please visit werise.la.