shg Youth Committee's Past projects
Inaugural Youth Committee Cohort with artist Jackie Amézquita, 2019
Check out the work Self Help Graphics’ previous Youth Committee cohorts worked on during their TErms.
Activations
2022-23 cohort
Aaron Diaz, Sol Aguilar Ramirez, Anthony Perez-Perez, Ariani Ray, Carlos Cano, Dani Marin, Eztli De Jesus, Ixchel Cruz, Karen Perez, Karla Guzman, Maddy Rubio, Esabella Gerardo, Paulina Jimenez, and Julian Hernandez.
2022-23 cohort projects:
Created a Day of the Dead altar students victims of gun violence in schools.
Held a fundraiser for Classroom of Compassion during SHGs Holiday Marketplace with hand painted planters, handmade clay objects, and succulents arranged by them.
Made hundreds of art kits for migrant children waiting in shelters at the border in Tijuana, México.
Created a photo booth for Queer Prom, organized by Latino Equality Alliance, Rainbow Labs, and Reach LA
They organized the second Summer Youth Night in collaboration with the Las Fotos Project Youth Council, a youth-led celebration including live music, honoring street vendors, a youth-curated marketplace, and live screen printing.
2021-22 cohort
Sol Aguilar Ramirez, Kimberly Espinosa, Julian Hernandez, Paulina Jimenez, Velketh Mendizabal, Nadia Olea, Ariani Ray, Maddy Rubio, Elizabeth Simon, Tony D. Valentino
2021-22 cohort projects:
They created a Day of the Dead altar honoring journalists and activists killed in Latin America and Los Angeles titled Fallen Heroes but Never Forgotten.
They designed, printed, and assembled one hundred resource bags to give to the community during a resource fair part of Phung Huyhn’s Donut W(h)ole exhibition programming.
Co-designed and painted a mural with artist duo NSRGNTS, celebrating the Boyle Heights community.
They organized the first Summer Youth Night at Self Help Graphics, a youth-led celebration including live music, street vendors, a youth-curated thrift store, and live screen printing.
2020 - 21 COHORT
Jacqueline Aguirre, Fariyan Alam, Citlaly Flores, Sonia Maturano, Sabrina Mendoza, Josiah O'Balles, Elizabeth Simon, Andrea Tupas, and Ashley Valle. *This cohort met online for the duration of their cycle due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Día de los Muertos Altar, 2020
This altar was created to pay our respects to the farmers, healthcare workers, factory workers, and many essential employees who have passed away due to Covid-19. We also want to pay our respect to the Navajo nation, which has been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 this year. This pandemic has negatively affected marginalized communities, who don’t receive certain services due to injustices in the healthcare system.
Joy & Resilience - Mural for We Rise, 2020
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.
2019 - 20 cohort
Hélène Philippe, Jake Montoya, Karla Jacome, Gabriella Claro, Samantha Nieves, Oscar Dominguez, Aimee Martinez, Milo Woods, and Arlene Campa.
Día de los Muertos Altar as part of the 2019 Exhibit Ancestral Lights
Cruzando (Crossing)
The altar, created by SHG’s Youth Committee, honored youth and children who have passed while seeking a better life across our borders, including those who have died due to cruel immigration policies that put people in detention. Each element of the altar represents the terrain thousands of people have to navigate to get to the other side, from the desert of the Southwest to the Rio Grande in Texas.
The portraits of Jakelin Caal Maquín, Wilmer Josué Ramírez Vásquez, Juan De Leon Gutierrez, Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, Mariee Juarez, Felipe Gomez Alonzo, and Darlyn Cristabel Cordova Valle were drawn by Karla Jacome.
“A project that I contributed to was the Day of the Dead Altar that the youth committee put together for Youth that lost their lives at the hands of ICE and/or while migrating. This was my favorite project we worked on. We got to think creatively and worked collaboratively to build homage for our lost youth. Through this project, I got to reflect on this system that is affecting our communities, but I also developed an understanding of how I find such a deep sense of community and comfort through my peers when having conversations about these issues.” -Gabriella Claro, 2019-20 Cohort
Fashion Show curated by Helene Philippe and Arlene Campa
Starbright Fashion Show
The SHG Youth Committee collaborated with MiEstori, an annual event developed by Queer-Trans Creators of Color who take space and make space for emerging creators. For the event, Helene Philippe and Arlene Campa curated Starbrite, an experimental fashion focused on gender expression and the support of the community's youth. The fashion show featured clothing from In The Making Boutique, a non-profit organization that provides internships and mentorship to the youth of East Los Angeles.
“A skill I am really excited to take advantage of to go beyond is teamwork, a skill I struggled with before. I had preferred to work alone before and just finish a project slower but now I’d rather have a strong team. Working with other youth leaders who want nothing but to see their community flourish already and will do anything in their power to do so is so inspiring.” -Helene Phillippe, 2019-20 Cohort
Census Mural
The youth committee collaborated on a portable mural to encourage participation in the Census with the question “What does your community look like when you’re counted?” The project was meant to be interactive and be used alongside our Census 2020 BMAS Workshops. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 the project wasn’t completed, but the painting was able to make it out to the public through a car caravan to promote the Census in June 2020.
Online Art Party
Members of the Self Help Graphics Youth Committee created the Online Art Party series to implement self-care during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the course of the series, participants create a zine using various mediums, adding a new page every week while staying safe at home. The Online Art Parties were offered FREE to the public via Zoom and broadcast live on YouTube.
Week 1: Zine Making + Self Care Plan with Arlene Campa and Gabby Claro
Week 2: Cartooning with Jake Montoya
Week 3: Blackout Poetry with Samantha Nieves and Milo Woods
Week 4: Creative Writing with Oscar Dominguez
youth testimonies
“Thanks to Self Help Graphics I have been more vocal about sharing my ideas and collaborating with other youths in project making. I also got to learn how to print, which I will be using in future art works. I loved when artist Joe Galarza came to speak to us. This past year I’ve began embracing and appreciating my Mexican roots. Galarza’s paintings in response to acknowledging our indigenous roots called to me because I didn’t dig deeper beyond my Latina identity. I felt recognized and I also felt the urge to explore more about my Zapotec identity.” -Sabrina Mendoza, 2021-22 Cohort
“A project I am proud to have brought into the Self Help space would definitely be the Wellness Wednesdays. I enjoyed introducing different forms of meditation and connecting it with art. It meant so much to me to be able to have created a space where everyone feels welcomed and inclined to explore their space within, without fears of judgment. I learned that there is much power in collective and community. When you create the environment to inspire and educate the youth, change follows. I no longer fear the imaginary “doom” that would be earth and now trust in my leadership and creative spirit to inspire people to make changes within so that it could reflect without. ” -Samantha Nieves, 2019-20 Cohort
“Though my time on the Youth Committee is over, the lessons I have learned will fundamentally inform my last year in high school and the upcoming college application process. As a rising senior who is an editor of the student newspaper and participant in the Global Scholars Program, I will use my voice to raise consciousness and encourage direct action on issues that matter most to me: racial justice and immigrant rights. Also, my experience with Self-Help has inspired me to focus my Global Scholars senior capstone project on muralism in Oaxaca and Los Angeles to showcase the role of art in transnational solidarity movements. Finally, as I start my college search, I will prioritize schools with strong Latinx and Latin American Studies programs and well organized Latinx student communities.” -Milo Woods, 2019-20 Cohort
“I learned a lot about the value of making our own art about our own lived experiences, and not allowing others to dictate what that looks like. All of us have different methods of expression, each as invaluable as the other. I hope to continue building up other artists and supporting each other as we continue our lives as Youth Committee alumni.” -Karla Jacome, 2019-20 Cohort
“I love the community of creatives and artists we built with the Youth Community. Whether it was asking advice on how to write a short story or asking for them to help you with a workshop, we could collaborate with each other and ask for help. It was such a beautiful experience and I was so grateful that all the Youth Committee members always showed up for each other to help. ” -Arlene Campa, 2019-20 Cohort
“My favorite part about being in the Youth Committee was having the opportunity to learn from, create with, share stories, and organize with other artists, community leaders & members, educators, activists, and youth. One of many things I learned that I will take beyond this experience was the important need for creative space, creative freedom, creative collaboration, creative entrepreneurship, technology, and community building in the communities of color in my city and in the whole world” -Oscar Dominguez, 2019-20 Cohort