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The historic East Los Angeles building that for thirty years housed Self-Help Graphics was sold in early July to a private real estate and investment company. The Order of the Sisters of St. Francis, who previously owned the property, transferred the deed to the Los Angeles Archdiocese who then facilitated the sale. The board of directors of Self Help Graphics has claimed that they were informed of the deal only the day after escrow on the building closed. Since news of the sale surfaced, the surrounding community, supporting artists, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina have all expressed outrage. A spokesperson for the Franciscan order reasoned that the sale was necessary due to the lack of grants secured by Self Help Graphics to purchase the property. Since 1978, the mosaic-covered building on Cesar Chavez Avenue has fostered the arts in East Los Angeles by exhibiting the work of local artists such as Patssi Valdez and Gronk. The cultural center has been a consistent home to annual events like the Farce of July and Dia de los Muertos celebration. With the sale, the future of Self-Help Graphics is uncertain, although reportedly the new owner of the building will be allow the group to stay until the year’s end.

GUEST: Chon Noriega, Director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, Professor at the UCLA Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media, and author of Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema. Prof. Noriega recently won the Ann C. Rosenfield Distinguished Community Partnership Prize for 2004-05 for his community partnership with Self-Help Graphics.

There will be a community meeting Thursday July 17th, at 7 pm at Self-Help Graphics, 3802 Cesar Chavez Avenue, East Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.selfhelpgraphics.com.