Press Release
Curated by Manuel Fernando Rios and Jose Arenas
Viewing Hours, Thursday-Saturday 12-5pm
The Latino Center of Art and Culture is proud to host What You Give, a group exhibition curated by Manuel Fernando Rios and Jose Arenas. The presentation showcases the artworks of six Sacramento area artist-educators alongside a selection of their students.
Chicanismo is a way of life. It is an ideology that puts emphasis on culture, identity, community, and education. In the exhibition What You Give, curators Rios and Arenas invited Chicana/o/x instructors Gina Aparicio, Sandi Escobar, Eddie Lampkin and Elyse Doyle Martinez to present work alongside their students. These educators use art to foster youth development at UC Davis, TANA (Woodland), Sierra College (Rocklin), Woodland Community College and Cache Creek High School (Woodland). The presentation What You Give will create a dialogue between these Chicana/o/x teachers and the students they instruct, going beyond the technical aspects of visual arts education into ideas of mentorship, community and a diversity of visual expression.
“This is an important exhibition for the Latino Center. It is an opportunity to continue our work of presenting contemporary, emerging artists while also supporting themes of community, tradition and the Latinx identity.”
--Justin Mata, Board Member, Latino Center of Art and Culture
An artists’ reception will be held Saturday, March 11th from 5-8PM at Latino Center of Art and Culture (2700 Front Street Sacramento, CA 95818). All members of the community are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served. The exhibition will be on view at Latino Center of Art and Culture until April 28th. Viewing hours are Fridays and Saturdays, 12 - 5PM or by appointment.
About the Artists:
Jose Arenas is a contemporary artist and curator based in California.He currently serves as Director of Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer (TANA), and teaches the Chicana/o Mural Workshop and Silkscreen Workshop courses in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis.
Manuel Fernando Rios is a West Sacramento, CA based artist and curator. Rios serves on the Board of Yolo Arts and is Associate Professor of Art at Woodland Community College in Woodland, CA.
Gina Aparicio is a self-identified queer Xicana Indigena artist, teacher, and community organizer, born and raised in the urban jungles of Los Angeles. Her anthropomorphic ceramic sculptures combine symbols from indigenous mythologies and worldviews, juxtaposing them with the contemporary.
Sandi Escobar was born in Hayward, California in 1980. She is currently Professor of Sculpture at Sierra College in Rocklin, California.
Eddie Lampkin is a Woodland based artist who manages Taller Arte del Nuevo Amanecer’s (TANA) workshop programming and archiving, while also facilitating edition projects and community events. Eddie creates politically engaged posters responding to social movements that combat local and national oppressive structures and policies.
Elyse Doyle-Martinez is an Artist and Brown Issues Advisor from Woodland, CA. Since 2018, she has worked at Cesar Chavez Community School, the Yolo County Juvenile Hall, and Cache Creek High School in Yolo County.
About Latino Center of Art and Culture
The mission of the Latino Center of Art and Culture is to foster artistic, economic and cultural development of the Sacramento region's Latine community by presenting, exhibiting, and providing excellent artistic programs and services to Latinx artists, organizations and families. Learn more about LCAC at thelatinocenter.org