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¡Printing the Revolution! Exhibit to Highlight the Impact of Chicano Graphics in US

NOVEMBER 20, 2020 — AUGUST 8, 2021 (8th and G Streets, NW)

In the 1960s, Chicano artists constructed the history of printmaking which remains vital to this day. Many Chicano artists came about during social rights movements such as the civil rights, feminist and LGBTQ+ movements. These artists broadcasted social activism with bold affirmations that demanded militant and cultural consciousness among people of Mexican descent in the United States. ¡Printing the Revolution! Exhibit explores Chicano graphics during social movements and the ways that Chicanx artists have renewed innovative printmaking practices centered around social justice and injustice.

¡Printing the Revolution! features over 120 works drawn from SAAM’s pioneering collection of Latinx art. The museum’s Chicanx graphics came from the renowned scholar Tomás Ybarra-Frausto.


The graphics in ¡Printing the Revolution! are more than a reflection of social and political change. By showing diverse visual and artistic modes, the artists in this exhibition have built a long-lasting and innovative tradition that hasn’t been be fully integrated into the history of U.S. printmaking.

This exhibition is first to unite trailblazing civil rights era prints as well as works created by contemporary printmakers. It will also feature a wide range of techniques and presentation plans, from installation art, to the increased reality and graphics that circulate throughout mainstream media.

¡Printing the Revolution! is the first to consider how Chicanx mentors, print centers and networks take care of other artists.

Artists and collectives featured in the exhibition include Rupert GarcíaMalaquias MontoyaEster Hernández,  Juan de Dios Mora, the Dominican York Proyecto GRAFICAJuan Fuentes and Linda Lucero and many others.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum will feature ¡Printing the Revolution! and will publish a major catalogue with essays featuring the organizer  E. Carmen Ramos, curator of Latinx art, and other  leading scholars of Chicanx and Latinx graphics.

To learn more, visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of A Second Chance, Inc.

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