By: Marvella Muro and Jennifer Cuevas

Beyond The Press is SHG’s artist in residence program that invites two interdisciplinary artists per year to create a new body of work over a six-month period. To inaugurate this new iteration of the program, Oaxacan artist Pavel Acevedo joins Self Help Graphic and Art to explore the theme of migration, looking at how both humans and animals adapt and adopt new environments as a result of external stresses. 

Acevedo is the first artist selected to participate in the program.  Selected through a nomination process by invitation only, Beyond the Press artists will have access to SHG’s Open Printmaking Studio with relief, intaglio and letterpress equipment, garner the the opportunity to collaborate on projects with the broader Boyle Heights community through workshops or discussions that may inform the artist’s practice, among many other benefits. At the culmination of his residency, Pavel will create an exhibition in SHG’s 1,200 square foot gallery space.  

A student of revered printer Shinzaburo Takeda who attended Rufino Tamayo Plastic Arts Workshop in Oaxaca City and La Escuela de Bellas Artes of Oaxaca, Acevedo’s work is not only influenced by his migration experience and his surroundings, but by his grandfather’s Zapotec stories. In the upcoming six months, Pavel will look to his current environment (nature, scenes, and images) and these legendary tales, combining the past and present. 

We look forward to sharing more about Pavel and the Beyond The Press residency in the upcoming weeks. Read more about our Beyond The Press program here.

Marvella Muro is SHG’s Director of Artistic Programs and Education. 

 Jennifer Cuevas is SHG’s Communications Consultant. She is a Cultural Arts Producer, with a passion for the arts, social justice and policy.