Vincent Price Art Museum Presents A Diverse Slate of Public Programs Celebrating we place life at the center / situamos la vida en el centro

September 21, 2024

Exploring art, science, and environmental justice in the Americas

Presented as part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (Nov. 2024) – This fall and winter, Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College (ELAC) invites audiences to further explore the new exhibition, We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro, through a diverse slate of public programs.

Stemming from the work of Los Angeles-based Colombian artist Carolina Caycedo and built upon four years of research and fieldwork across the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the exhibition and public programs series promote alternative solutions to global climate crises rooted in ecofeminist and environmental justice perspectives, and foster networks of solidarity and action among diverse organizations and social movements throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The public programs series — including artist talks, exhibition walk-throughs, art and seed exchange workshops, and offsite collaborations with PST ART partners — invites members of the public to reflect on the interconnectivity of the natural world and shared responsibility in its stewardship.

For more information and to RSVP, please visit VPAM’s website.

Public programs include:

We Place Life at the Center Seed Workshop with Azita Banu

Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, 1 to 3 p.m.
Vincent Price Art Museum
RSVP

This free, interactive seed workshop with artist and seed educator Azita Banu invites participants to discover the ethnobotanical history of seed libraries and the basics of seed-saving. Explore the hundreds of seeds included in the installation Life at the Center (2024), highlighting seasonal and native plants from the Chumash and Tongva territories. Attendees learn how to save and clean seeds and create seed envelopes to take home for their own gardens. Open to all ages, this program offers an opportunity to better understand our role within our local ecosystems. Materials are provided for all registered participants.

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PST ART Weekend Workshop: Make Your Own Arpillera

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Vincent Price Art Museum
RSVP

Participants in this free workshop create an arpillera, or textile artwork, focused on illustrating California’s rich biodiversity, including its diverse plants, animals, and landscapes. Led by arts educator Miranda Ynez, the workshop draws inspiration from the vibrant arpilleras featured in the exhibition We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro. These artworks not only document the environment but also tell powerful stories of community resilience and collective struggles against political repression. Through this hands-on experience, participants explore how art can serve as a medium for storytelling and environmental advocacy, celebrating the unique ecosystems of California while connecting to broader narratives of social justice in the Americas. Open to all ages; materials will be provided.

This event takes place during PST ART Weekend: Downtown LA, taking place Dec. 7 and 8. For more information, please visit: pst.art/en/events/dtalweekend

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PST ART Workshop: Make Your Own Amulet

Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025; 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Vincent Price Art Museum
RSVP

Inspired by artist Carolina Caycedo’s Amulets for Fair Energy Transition (2022), currently on display in We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro, this interactive workshop invites participants to create amulets, or protection adornments. These amulets serve to protect the earth from the forces that exploit natural resources and the communities who defend them. Led by arts educator Miranda Ynez, participants are invited to reflect on their personal ties to the environment to create new protection adornments that symbolize a commitment to sustaining the well being of the earth and ourselves. Open to all ages; materials provided.

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We Place Life at the Center Symposium

Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Vincent Price Art Museum
RSVP

Join this daylong program featuring exhibiting artists, scholars, students, and environmental movements associated with We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro. Participate in a series of engaging artist talks, panel discussions, film screenings, and other activities focused on the intersections of art and environmental justice issues in the Americas. Additional details forthcoming.

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We Place Life at the Center Art and Nature Walk

Friday, Feb. 21, 2025; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Offsite location to be announced

Join us for a nature walk and art activity led by artist Nadine Huguez, who has collaborated with Coyotl + Macehualli, an environmental organization based in El Sereno and Northeast Los Angeles, on several pieces in We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro. Visitors will be invited to appreciate and sketch the local plants and wildlife of Los Angeles County. Art materials will be provided.

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We Place Life at the Center Exhibition Tour

With Curator Joseph Valencia

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025; 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Vincent Price Art Museum

Join Curator of Exhibitions Joseph Valencia in the VPAM galleries to discuss the artworks, themes, and development of the exhibition, We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro. Presented as part of Getty’s landmark regional event, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, the exhibition runs through Mar. 1, 2025.

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El Respiro / Respire: A Geochoreography by Carolina Caycedo

Saturday, Mar. 1, 2025; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
University of Southern California (USC)
University Park Campus 3551 Trousdale Pkwy Los Angeles, CA 90007 INFO (RSVPs open Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at 10 a.m.)

INFO (RSVPs open Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at 10 a.m.)

El Respiro / Respire is a geochoreography performance and event developed by artist Carolina Caycedo, leads up to 150 participants in spelling the phrases “Transición Justa Ahora” and “Just Transition Now” with their bodies. The event takes place on the University of Southern California campus and serves as part of the closing programming for We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE:

10 to 11:30 a.m.
Just Transition in Latin America and Los Angeles Panel Discussion and Q&A
Location: Doheny Memorial Library, Room 240, USC Campus

This enlightening and inspiring panel focuses on “just transition” defined by the International Labor Association as “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.” Caycedo is joined by experts from Latin America and Los Angeles, including artists and PST ART research advisors Camila Marambio and Barbara Santos, as well as event moderator Allison Agsten, curator at the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability.

12 to 2 p.m.
Geochoreography–A Participatory Performance
Location: McCarthy Quad, USC Campus

Join a group of artists, environmentalists, students, and members of the public in a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Led by Caycedo, participants use their bodies to create the words “Transición Justa Ahora” and “Just Transition Now,” which will then be photographed from above by drone. As the images are prepared for posting on social media, the artist and participants will review and reflect upon the piece and process, and create captions for use when re-sharing the images to amplify the message.

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Running through March 1 2025, We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro debuts among more than 70 exhibitions and programs presented as part of PST ART. Returning in September 2024 with its latest edition, PST ART: Art & Science Collide, this landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. PST ART is presented by Getty. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art.

We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro is organized by the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College. The exhibition is curated by Joseph Valencia, Curator of Exhibitions, with the assistance of Nadia Estrada, PST ART Project Manager, and Gloria Ortega, Curatorial Assistant.

We Place Life at the Center / Situamos la vida en el centro is made possible through lead grants from Getty as part of the PST ART: Art & Science Collide initiative.

Additional support for this project is provided through a grant from the Mellon Foundation. The project is also supported by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan.

All exhibitions and programs at the Vincent Price Art Museum are underwritten by the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation and East Los Angeles College.

About Vincent Price Art Museum
The Vincent Price Art Museum (VPAM) at East Los Angeles College serves as a unique educational resource for the diverse audiences of the college and the community through the exhibition, interpretation, collection, and preservation of works in all media of the visual arts. VPAM provides an environment to encounter a range of aesthetic expressions that illuminate the depth and diversity of artwork produced by people of the world, both contemporary and past. By presenting thoughtful, innovative, and culturally diverse exhibitions and by organizing cross-disciplinary programs on issues of historical, social, and cultural relevance, VPAM seeks to promote knowledge, inspire creative thinking, and deepen an understanding of and appreciation for the visual arts. Learn more about VPAM at VPAM.org.

Follow VPAM on Facebook and Instagram!

About East Los Angeles College
East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is the largest of nine two-year community colleges within the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). More information about ELAC is available online at www.elac.edu. Follow ELAC on social media at Facebook @EastLACollege, X/Twitter @EastLACollege, and Instagram @ELACHuskies.

About PST ART: Art & Science Collide
Southern California’s landmark arts event, PST ART, returns in September 2024, presenting more than 60 exhibitions from organizations across the region exploring the intersections of art and science, both past and present. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit pst.art.

For VPAM press inquiries, please contact Katie Dunham, Katie Dunham Communications, at katie@katiedunham.net.

_{Image: Installation view, We Place Life at the Center, on view at the Vincent Price Art Museum, Los Angeles, September 28- March 1, 2024. Photo by Paul Salveson.}