Self Help Graphics & Art (SHG) is proud to present Sinks: Places We Call Home, an exhibition curated by Marvella Muro with curatorial assistance by Ana Guajardo, featuring artists Maru Garcia and Beatriz Jaramillo, opening September 21, 2024 from 5:00 PM-8:00 PM and on view through February 15, 2025, at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex’s Gallery at California State University, Los Angeles, located at 5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032. RSVP to the opening reception here.

Sinks is part of Getty's PST Art: Art & Science Collide initiative and highlights the long-term ramifications of pollution on communities of color caused by two manufacturing sites located near SHG: the former Exide Battery plant in Vernon and the former Athens Tank Farm in Willowbrook. Sinks combines data-driven research and art to reveal the harm caused to these neighborhoods serving as sinks or reservoirs of pollution.  While the exhibition sheds light on the issues of land contamination, it also offers resources and information to empower individuals.

“The case-studies featured by the exhibit, Vernon and Willowbrook, show how Black and Brown communities are linked by environmental injustice and exploitation that, unfortunately, many communities of color across the nation continue to face,” said Marvella Muro, Director of Artistic Programs and Sink Curator, Self Help Graphics. “While the exhibit shows this hard reality, it also uplifts community-driven solutions and provides resources that empowers audiences with the tools they can use to stay vigilant, active, and engaged to fight against environmental injustice.”

“Sinks: Places We Call Home is a perfect example of artivism, art that inspires action. Through compelling works that lift the voices of those directly impacted by environmental racism, and by sharing tangible solutions, our goal is for audiences to recognize that they can play a role to help prevent future harm and neglect,” said Jennifer M. Cuevas, Executive Director, Self Help Graphics. 

Producing new art for the exhibit, artist Maru Garcia partnered with the Natural History Museum’s Mineral  and Community Science Department to pursue soil testing and lead reduction studies with community scientists in the Vernon area through a project called Prospering backyard (Pb). Garcia examined the catastrophic lead contamination by the Exide Battery Plant in Southeast Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods, one of the costliest environmental cleanups in history. 

“This exhibit at the intersection of art and science calls on audiences to learn about how vulnerable communities continue to live with the ramification of contamination, and how we can each do our part to hold bad actors accountable and bring about solutions,” said Garcia.

Focusing on the Willowbrook community, Beatriz Jaramillo’s art practice uplifts forgotten voices, stories, and data about the land contamination of Magic Johnson Park, the largest urban park in South Los Angeles. 

Jaramillo’s work investigates how various government agencies and urban planning policies rooted in white supremacy neglected to protect the community, causing widespread adverse health conditions and the deaths of dozens of residents of Ujima Village, the housing projects built on top of the contaminated land. Through community building with the local Willowbrook Community Garden, Jaramillo and SHG have worked to reframe how communities can mitigate environmental hazards by collaborating on a multi-year workshop series focusing on the intersection between nature, art and healing.

“Our aim is to shift our relationship with the land and empower us to connect with the soil through knowledge, stewardship and advocacy,” said Jaramillo. 

The exhibition also features work by Kim Abeles, Miyo Stevens-Gandara, Poli Marichal, Tara Pixley, Albert Tlatoa, Christian Salcedo Ward, Joan Zamora, and poetry by Tina Calderon. 

For a list of related programs please visit, https://www.selfhelpgraphics.com/sinks.