“A jewel of a museum, tucked away in East LA, showing NEXT LEVEL artists with roots in LA.
There isn’t aNOTHER ONE quite like it.”
Catherine B., Sierra Madre
ON VIEW
Always Running: Photography by Luis. J Rodriguez
EXHIBITION DATES: 04/14/2026 – 06/13/2026
Luis J. Rodriguez is a Chicano poet, novelist, journalist, and community leader with deep roots in Los Angeles. This exhibition marks the 30th anniversary of his first memoir, Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in LA. Rare and unpublished,…
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OFELIA ESPARZA: A RETROSPECTIVE
EXHIBITION DATES: 10/18/2025 – 05/16/2026
Widely recognized as one of California’s most revered folk artists with a cultural impact spanning more than seven decades, Esparza helped bring the cherished traditions of Mexican altar-making and Día de los Muertos into the American mainstream, beginning in the 1970s, through her work with community arts center Self Help Graphics & Art in Boyle Heights.
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DEL ALMA: LATINA PORTRAITS FROM THE VINCENT PRICE ART MUSEUM @ The Music Center
EXHIBITION DATES: 04/13/2024 – 05/31/2026
Del Alma: Latina Portraits from the Vincent Price Art Museum presents an intergenerational group of portraits by Los Angeles-based Latina artists, who collectively explore portraiture and cultural identity through diverse forms of creative expression.
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Form and Function in the Ancient Americas
Our ongoing permanent exhibition
Form and Function in the Ancient Americas highlights the wide range of cultures represented in our Ancient American collection. Cultures from the Nayarit-Jalisco-Colima region of West Mexico (2000 – 1000 BCE) to the Chimú of Peru (900-1500 CE) are featured.
VIEW DETAILSUpcoming Events
April 25, 2026
“New Voices” opening reception
May 9, 2026
Ofelia Esparza Closing Celebration
Connect With VPAM
Earlier this month, several pieces from VPAM’s permanent collection were highlighted in “Silenced Witness: Nagasaki in the eyes of a US combat artist,” a new documentary on @nhkworldjapan.
The film explores the life and work of American artist Ted Gilien, who began his career as a New Deal muralist through the Works Progress Administration and as a set-designer for films, including “Spartacus” (1960). In World War II, he served as a U.S. army sergeant in the South Pacific, and was among the first Americans to enter Nagasaki in 1945 after its atomic bombing by the U.S.
His postwar paintings, many of which remain unidentified or in private hands, reflect a visual evolution shaped by the experience of witnessing a devastated Japan. We are honored to hold 33 of his artworks within the VPAM permanent collection.
Check out “Silenced Witness” at the link in bio!
Image captions:
* Ted Gilien, [group of figures in a row], c. 1940-1950, Gift of Lawrence and Charlotte Sherman, Vincent Price Art Museum.
* Ted Gilien, [immigrant families], c. 1940-1950, Gift of Lawrence and Charlotte Sherman, Vincent Price Art Museum.
* Ted Gilien, [five seated figures - four women, one man], c. 1940-1950, Gift of Lawrence and Charlotte Sherman, Vincent Price Art Museum.
![Earlier this month, several pieces from VPAM’s permanent collection were highlighted in “Silenced Witness: Nagasaki in the eyes of a US combat artist,” a new documentary on @nhkworldjapan.
The film explores the life and work of American artist Ted Gilien, who began his career as a New Deal muralist through the Works Progress Administration and as a set-designer for films, including “Spartacus” (1960). In World War II, he served as a U.S. army sergeant in the South Pacific, and was among the first Americans to enter Nagasaki in 1945 after its atomic bombing by the U.S.
His postwar paintings, many of which remain unidentified or in private hands, reflect a visual evolution shaped by the experience of witnessing a devastated Japan. We are honored to hold 33 of his artworks within the VPAM permanent collection.
Check out “Silenced Witness” at the link in bio!
Image captions:
* Ted Gilien, [group of figures in a row], c. 1940-1950, Gift of Lawrence and Charlotte Sherman, Vincent Price Art Museum.
* Ted Gilien, [immigrant families], c. 1940-1950, Gift of Lawrence and Charlotte Sherman, Vincent Price Art Museum.
* Ted Gilien, [five seated figures - four women, one man], c. 1940-1950, Gift of Lawrence and Charlotte Sherman, Vincent Price Art Museum.](https://vpam.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
This Saturday! Celebrate #NationalPoetryMonth at VPAM with a special poetry writing workshop led by #LA-based poet and artist @gloriaenedinaalvarez.
Using the exhibition, “Ofelia Esparza: A Retrospective” as inspiration, participants will be guided through writing prompts that transform images, objects, and personal histories into poetry. The afternoon welcomes writers of all experience levels to engage with Esparza’s art through words.
Free and open to the public. RSVP now at the link in bio to join us!
Image: Installation view, “Ofelia Esparza: A Retrospective,” on view at the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College, October 18, 2025–April 18, 2026. Photo by Paul Salveson.
This week, we’re thrilled to open “Always Running: Photography by Luis J. Rodriguez.” On view through June 13, the new exhibition marks the 30th anniversary of Chicano poet, novelist, journalist, and community leader Luis J. Rodriguez’s memoir, “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in LA.”
Rare and unpublished, the photographs on view document the people and historic neighborhoods that touched and influenced Rodriguez’s early life from the 1960s through the 1980s.
On Tuesday, May 5, don’t miss “Town Hall: From the Streets to the Page: Art, Survival, and Transformation,” a conversation with Rodriguez (@lrodrig555) and guest curator Noé Montes, hosted by @elachuskies. Learn more at vpam.org!
Image: East L.A. Vato, c. 1980. Archival pigment print. Courtesy of the artist.
Recently, we welcomed in spring with “Walk Gently Upon This Earth: A Conversation on Sacred Origins with the Esparza Family.” 🌸🌱
Led by the artist and her children Rosanna, Denise, and Alec, and moderated by VPAM Curator of Exhibitions Joseph Valencia, the afternoon’s chat offered insight into Esparza’s spiritual, cultural, and political foundations, and the ancestral knowledge that has guided her family’s work for more than six generations. Thank you to everyone who attended!
“Ofelia Esparza: A Retrospective” is on view through May 18, 2026. Learn more and make plans to visit at the link in bio!
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The Vincent Price Art Museum is a cherished educational and cultural resource for local residents, students, artists, and arts supporters. When you donate to the VPAM Foundation, our fundraising organization, you join a community of supporters who are passionate about sustaining a dynamic museum that is making a transformative impact in the arts.
IN THE NEWS
December 3, 2025
See Ofelia Esparza’s dazzling altars at VPAM
KCRW
November 5, 2025
For Ofelia Esparza, ‘It’s always been about community.’ Now East LA pays tribute to her legacy
Boyle Heights Beat
November 5, 2025
At 93 years old, LA artist who helped popularize Day of the Dead gets her first solo show
LAist
STAY VPAM INFORMED!
Our monthly newsletter is a great resource for all VPAM happenings including exhibitions, free programming and more.
All exhibitions are underwritten by the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation and East Los Angeles College.
Cover Photo credit: Monica Orozco.