- Partnerships with the Latino Community: RAM partnered with the Riverside Latino Network for Trabajamos/We Work: Photographs by David Bacon. This was part of a series of collaborative efforts. The Riverside Latino Network also generously made possible the acquisition of seven new pieces for the Permanent Collection from Self Help Graphics (SHG). The 2015 Printmaking Survey of the Los Angeles River is a portfolio of the fine art prints hand-produced by Self Help Graphic’s L.A. River Atelier, ranging in medium from wood and linocuts to digital prints. This is the first atelier produced through SHG’s Open Printmaking Studio program. SHG prints represent a significant holding in RAM’s Permanent Collection. Continuing to collect work by SHG and the artists it supports is important as we continue to build a collection that is representative of and connects to our community. You can learn more about SHG and see the acquired prints in our Self Help Graphics exhibition.
- Identifying cultural assets through crowd-sourcing tools: We ask the community to reflect and share their knowledge of cultural treasures to help move us beyond the gallery walls and expand our community’s definition of art. By mapping the locations of cultural treasures throughout Riverside, we hope to build a network of cultural vitality that represents the Latinx community and build relationships between the museum and community. Tell us about the cultural treasures in your neighborhood. Tell us where we can find creative businesses and artists in our community.
- Cynthia Herrera’s Project Bici: Stories from the Eastside.
- Artist-in-residency: The Riverside Art Make grew to involve artists-in-residence who work both on and off site, like Cynthia Huerta, C. Matthew Luther, and Lawrence Beall.
In 2021, RAM Community Engagement intern Clara Dawson, a Museum Studies graduate student at the University of Washington, spent the summer working to create programming that expands access to the Golden Hour exhibition for Blind and low vision visitors.
Clara developed this program in collaboration with Blindness Support Services (BSS), a Riverside agency working to increase independence for those that are Blind or have low vision. In a series of listening sessions with clients and students of BSS, participants indicated what they wanted and needed from the museum to experience art.
“With the information I learned from BSS, I’m working on implementing tactile models of some of the images in the exhibition and leading descriptive guided tours for visitors who cannot experience artwork through vision. I hope that the work I complete during this internship will provide RAM with resources to continue accessibility and community collaboration work!”
We need your help!
- Tell us about the cultural treasures in your neighborhood. Díganos sobre los tesoros culturales en su vecindad. Click here.
- Tell us where we can find creative businesses and artists in our community. Díganos donde podemos encontrar a los artistas y negocios creativos en su comunidad. Click here.
- Have a community event that you would like RAM to pop up at? Email: [email protected].
- Would you like to present your work at the museum during our popular Artswalk and First Sundays? Email [email protected]
- Would you like to donate your time, talent, or treasure? Click here to see the various ways you can support RAM. We are also looking for bilingual docents to be museum guides!
Read more about our work:
- https://www.irvine.org/arts/who-we-fund/riverside-art-museum
- http://www.pe.com/articles/art-812008-chicano-self.html
- http://www.pe.com/articles/art-772900-museum-riverside.html
- http://www.pe.com/articles/malphettes-801420-riverside-french.html
- http://www.pe.com/articles/huerta-821486-hands-altar.html
Many thanks to those who make this work possible:
James Irvine Foundation’s New California Art Fund
California Arts Council’s Creative California Communities Planning Grant and the Artists Activating Communities Grant
National Endowment for the Arts
Riverside Arts Council