“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
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 18, 2026
Poetry Writing Workshop: The Words We Carry
April 25, 2026
“New Voices” opening reception
May 9, 2026
Ofelia Esparza Closing Celebration
Connect With VPAM
Thank you to everyone who joined us this past Saturday for a watercolor and crayon resists art-making workshop inspired by the art of Ofelia Esparza.
Teaching artist Cynthia Huerta (@lovewithjoyart) of Love with Joy Art Club led attendees through creating unique pieces, inspired by the works on view.
Stay tuned for more upcoming events in tandem with “Ofelia Esparza: A Retrospective,” on view through May 16, 2026.
Photos by VPAM staff, teaching artist Cynthia Huerta, and attendees.
¡Feliz cumpleaños a Ofelia Esparza!
Happy birthday to Ofelia Esparza!
Today, the artist turns 94. Ofelia’s decades-long career shows her lifelong commitment to creative experimentation. Visit “Ofelia Esparza: A Retrospective” to learn more about her evolution as an artist and cultural matriarch whose vision and influence have profoundly shaped the trajectory of American art and culture.
Pictured here is a joyful scene during the exhibition’s opening reception, which featured performances in tribute to Ofelia.
Photo by @dianafeil_photography.
Undergraduate students in L.A. County: VPAM is hiring! The #GettyMarrow Curatorial and Collections Intern will support the research, planning, and coordination of the museum’s upcoming exhibitions and current efforts to catalog and interpret its permanent collection and archives.
The position provides a joint introduction to the work of museum curators and collections managers, highlighting the intersections between these professions.
Applications for this paid internship are due Friday, April 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM Pacific Time (PT). Tap the link in our bio to learn more and apply. ↑
We hope to see you on Saturday, March 28 for "Walk Gently Upon This Earth," a special conversation and exhibition walkthrough with Ofelia Esparza and her family members. The talk will focus on two altars in the exhibition: "Defenders of Mother Earth" and "Raíces Cósmicas."
Learn more about Esparza’s spiritual, cultural, and political foundations, and the ancestral knowledge that has guided her work for more than seven decades. We invite community members and art lovers to gather, reflect, and engage in dialogue on ancestral knowledge, care for the earth, and collective responsibility.
Free and open to all. RSVP at the link in our bio.
Photos by Paul Salveson.
DonatE
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.