Chicano Studies Research Center Holds Annual Open House

Photo by Helga Salinas.

UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) held its annual open house at the Fowler Museum.

The event this year was dedicated to Chon Noriega, the director of the CSRC, in celebration of his 50th birthday, 10th year as director, and 15th year as editor of “Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies.”

The open house was held in the Fowler Museum courtyard where the guests mingled around the fountain meeting old friends and catching up with fellow artists while eating Mexican cuisine such as enchiladas, quesadillas and flan.

The Fowler presently hosts two exhibitions from the CSRC’s L.A. Xicano project, “Mapping Another L.A.: The Chicano Art Movement” and “Icons of the Invisible: Oscar Castillo.”

After much praise and anecdotal accounts of how individuals met and were introduced to Chon Noriega, he gave a few words describing the importance of increasing visibility of Chiana/o Studies, and Chicana/o art within the community. This has been a primary motivation for the L.A. Xicano project across Los Angeles museums, which include Autry National Center and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Noriega also commented on the need for Chicana/o art to take up space within a community as a method of gaining credibility.

The Chicano Studies Research Center open house was a celebration of Chon Noriega’s work as director, and it concluded like all celebrations, with a cake imprinted with the CSRC logo.