By: Natalie Godinez 

Over the last six months of 2022, Self Help Graphics has done a lot of work in the community through our Youth Artivism Internship, Youth Committee, and the Eastside LEADS Coalition, as well as through our ongoing programs and exhibitions. Below are some highlights of our work: 

Youth Artivism Internship & Eastside LEADS

Our inaugural youth artivist cohort, Sophia García, Priscilla Hernandez, and Vanya Navarrete, finished their term late last year but continued to work on a mural project they began with artist Pável Acevedo. Sophía García took the lead in completing this project and worked alongside Acevedo to print the mural elements. The finished mural Un Pueblo Vive, La Lucha Sigue, is on view at the SHG building on Anderson street. You can read more about the project here. 

Our current Youth Artivist cohort, Kimby Ruiz, Josiah O'Balles, and Samantha Nieves, have been working on their anchor project, Eastside Speaks, a multidisciplinary project including a series of workshops with tenants, an installation, and a video. The project focuses on uplifting the experiences of tenants who have faced displacement, live in uninhabitable units, are unable to maintain rent increases, have or are experiencing homelessness, and continue the fight for permanent tenant protections. Throughout five workshops, tenants contributed to an installation focused on reclaiming the cultural identities of their homes, their wishes for their own homes, and using art as a healing tool. Additionally, the Youth Artivists facilitated conversations during the workshops captured on video and audio to produce an experimental video project.

One outcome of the project was building a relationship with Angel, a Boyle Heights tenant, who attended the workshops and was facing harassment from his landlord. Self Help Graphics hosted an art build night to create visuals for an action against his landlord. Eastside LEADS, in partnership with Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), organized a press rally outside his landlord's home, Matt Pouratian, in Beverly Hills to demand a stop to the harassment and attempts at illegal eviction. Thanks to the rally, Angel was able to stay in his home and feels empowered to confront his landlord if future harassment happens. 

Through the Eastside LEADS Coalition, we continued our work informing tenants about their rights in the Stay Housed LA program workshops, including an in-person Know Your Rights Clinic in El Sereno in partnership with the People's Pantry, and hosted several art builds for the Keep LA Housed coalition. The Youth Artivists, along with community members, created two large-scale banners for a press rally launching the Tenant Bill of Rights platform on International Mother's Day on May 10, 2022. 

Youth Committee and Community 

From the Clouds to the Ground to the Roots was a small exhibition in February 2022 ideated by former and current Youth Committee members Kimberly Espinosa and Sabrina Mendoza, both artists and daughters of Zapotec parents. The show was a companion to the culminating exhibition of the Beyond the Press resident artist Pável Acevedo, inspired by Zapotec mythology and his family history. From the Clouds featured self-identified Indigenous Oaxacan youth creating artwork in various mediums - photography, digital art, painting, and textiles. 

As part of the programming for Phung Huynh's Donut W(h)ole exhibition, we hosted a Family Resource Fair on April 9 in partnership with the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs, of which Huynh is a resident artist. The event included information from several organizations serving families through childcare, health, wellness, tenant rights, and food insecurity. The fair had a free ice cream truck sponsored by the artist, free groceries from The People's Pantry, live printing, and an art activity. Additionally, the Youth Committee created one hundred resource bags with tote bags designed by Youth Committee member Sol Aguilar Ramirez, inspired by the Donut W(h)ole exhibition, and printed by the youth. The bags included: A hand-assembled first aid kit, a mini flashlight, a sewing kit, reusable face masks, a notebook, a pen, flyers with local resources, and two zines created by the inaugural Youth Artivists - Tenant Power! Zine and Esperanza, a mental health zine. 

In May, Self Help Graphics participated in the We Rise initiative through the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health. We hosted a Family Wellness Day featuring a wellness mercadito, a free music class for kids, yoga, and giveaways. 

Lastly, in July, our Youth Committee organized a wonderful Summer Youth Night with live music, free art supplies, a curated thrift store, live printing, and food. The event was a culmination of their work with us and an intentional way to involve more youth at Self Help Graphics and continue our work. Now that our 2021-22 Youth Cohort has wrapped up, we are excited for the possibilities to come with the next group of youth to continue engaging the community and creating magic in our space. 

Check out more of our community and advocacy work by following along on our youth-led social media page on Instagram @shgyouth and the housing justice work with Eastside LEADS @eastsideleads. 

Natalie M Godinez is an artist, mother, educator, and Self Help Graphics & Art’s Community Engagement Manager.