La Plaza de Cultura y Artes

Fund: $40,000

Jointly presented by La Plaza de Cultura y Artes and the California Historical Society as part of the Getty Foundation’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative, ¡Murales Rebeldes!: L.A. Chicana/o Murals Under Siege explores the ways in which Chicana/o murals in the greater Los Angeles area have been contested, challenged, censored, and even destroyed. Through the stories of seven muralists, the exhibition offers viewers insight into the powerful and radical messages that murals can carry, as well as the means by which these messages are suppressed. A centerpiece of the project is a re-installation of Barbara Carrasco’s L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective (1981), a piece that typifies the struggles of Chicana/o muralists. Originally sponsored by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) for the city’s bicentennial celebration, Carrasco’s 16-by-80-foot portable mural depicts Los Angeles history from the perspective of its ethnic communities. The mural was censored by the CRA and became a symbol of the struggle over competing visions of Los Angeles's history. Since its creation, L.A. History has only been displayed once in its entirety, at Union Station in 1990. The exhibition will bring the mural back for public viewing for the first time in 25 years.