We are excited to invite our community of supporters to the closing celebration for our latest exhibition, Son de Allá Son de Acá. Join us on April 20, 2024 from 11am-4pm for an evening of arte, cultura, and comunidad as we bid farewell to the beautiful exhibition that has graced our gallery. The Chicano Park Museum and Cultural Center is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Guest Curators Rigoberto Luna, Christian Ramírez, Vicente Telles, and Ricardo Islas. 

As stated by the Curators, “Through our series of exhibitions titled Son de Allá y Son de Acá, our goal is to bring awareness to the Chicano/a and Latino/a creatives living and working in underrepresented and marginalized areas. We aim to bridge art communities, create awareness of new voices, foster communication, increase opportunities, and expand our understanding socially, culturally, and historically between artists across state borders. This cross-border exchange highlights the shared historical and socio-political ties between states within the U.S.-American Southwest, predating the Spanish conquest to current complexities at the U.S.-Mexico border. The exhibition features emerging and well-established artists in drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, fiber, action figures, sculpture, and performance. It reveals the impact of place in shaping the identity and practice of artists working in landscapes with deeply shared histories while uncovering the common threads and examining the similarities of parallel narratives, cultures, and heritage.

Son de Allá y Son de Acá is an ambitious project that amplifies the voices of contemporary Chicano/a and Latino/a artists and showcases contemporary art that transcends boundaries and celebrates the cultural diversity of the American Southwest. Through a multidisciplinary showcase, visitors can witness a convergence of communities where art is a universal language of unity. The exhibition invites viewers to experience the vibrant art found in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas Chicano/a and Latino/a communities to inspire cross-communication and dismantling assumptions of Southwestern art. The exhibition paves a pathway for artists of diverse backgrounds, emphasizing that their identities are not monolithic. At the same time, they recognize the similarities that bind them and the interconnections that make them stronger together—simultaneously combating the long-standing exclusion of their narratives in institutions across the Southwest to represent their presence accurately while highlighting the practice of innovative contemporary Latino artists who utilize a variety of mediums to capture the essence of place and experience. Fiber works resonate with tales of labor and tradition, paintings celebrating identity and family, and sculptural work crafted from the everyday artifacts of the U.S.-Mexico border form a visual language of the border towns’ complexity and migration narratives. Each approach and medium becomes a conduit for expression, inviting visitors to step into their world to feel the pulse of their communities.”

We encourage and invite folks to view the exhibition before it closes at 1960 National Ave, San Diego, CA 92113, Thursday-Sunday from 11am-5pm.