Nearly six months after securing the $3.6 million necessary to buy its Boyle Heights headquarters, Self Help Graphics & Art has completed acquisition of the Ocean Queen Building at the corner of First and Anderson Streets.
“The acquisition of Self Help Graphics & Art’s current home, is a monumental accomplishment for our community arts organization,” co-director Betty Ávila said in a statement released Thursday. “The positive impact to the populations that we serve […] is extensive; and sets a precedent in fortifying SHG’s legacy as a top cultural arts institution in the country.”
Purchase of the former sea urchin processing plant was made possible in part by $825,000 in former Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) funds secured last year by Councilman José Huízar and additional funds from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and from private foundations.
Started in East Los Angeles in the early 1970’s, Self Help has long established itself as a nurturing hub for Chicano artists.
“Since its inception, Self Help Graphics & Art has been the premier space for printmaking, cultural expression, innovation, social justice and artivism for emerging Chicana/o and Latinx artists, co director Joel García said in the statement, explaining that the organization was not immune to the effects of gentrification in Boyle Heights.
“Self-determination through stewardship of this building is significant for the cultural arts community and means that the organization will no longer be at risk for displacement; allowing us to expand on our mission to be a leading source of cultural programming, arts education and workforce development for artists-of-color in the creative capital of the world,” he added.
After being displaced from the popular East Los Angeles location where it operated for decades, Self Help moved to the building at 1300 E. 1st St in 2011. In 2014, the organization was forced to close the building because of needed roof repairs and the presence of mold around its old refrigerators, and it remained closed for almost a year.
In spite of its revered status and long history, Self Help has been criticized by some local groups as an enabler of gentrification and accused of collaborating with galleries and other nearby Arts District organizations that will force the displacement of low-income area residents.
