Chicano history and culture intersect in the art exhibition “The Chicano Collection/La Colección Chicana.” Now open to the public at the Old Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana (211 W. Santa Ana Blvd.), the collection features images depicting city life and Chicano experiences between 1969 and 2001.
The exhibition consists of limited edition digital reproductions, called giclées, of original paintings by 26 prominent Chicano artists from the private collection of actor and comedian Cheech Marin. Marin’s collection now serves as the foundation of the Riverside Art Museum’s Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, which opens in June 2022.
The prints were created as part of a national art project led by Marin with the late Richard S. Duardo of Modern Multiples Fine Art Editions and Melissa Richardson Banks of CauseConnect. Along with the giclee prints are a 25-minute documentary on Chicano art and linocut portraits of each artist by Artemio Rodriguez. The exhibit will be on view in the Courthouse Exhibition Gallery through the end of the year.
“Preserving cultural heritage in our diverse and historic communities is so important, including representations of the history and struggle of Mexican Americans and Latinos in the Southwest. I wanted to help bring this exhibit here because many of our residents do not have the opportunity to visit the museum in Riverside and because Orange County played an important role in the Chicano Movement. I am very proud to be able to offer this incredible art experience to residents and visitors at the historic Old Orange County Courthouse,” said Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento. “We are joining the community in celebrating Chicano Heritage Month by hosting the exhibit ‘The Chicano Collection/La Colección Chicana.'”
The Chicano movement was shaped over several decades by notable leaders and activists such as Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and others. Marin was fascinated by the artistic expressions of Chicano culture and has built his own, famous private collection over the past 40 years. “The Chicano Collection” was created to promote Chicano art as a recognized school of American art, increase public accessibility of these works in cities across the country and help audiences understand and appreciate the richness of the culture.
Admission to the exhibition “The Chicano Collection/La Colección Chicana” is free and can be viewed in the gallery of the Old Orange County Courthouse Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Paid parking is available on site and in surrounding street lots.
For information about The Chicano Collection/La Colección Chicana art exhibit or the Old Orange County Courthouse, visit ocparks.com/historic-sites/old-orange-county-courthouse.
