La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown L.A. is taking a deep dive into the contributions to the American artistic landscape made by Chicano and Chicana artists with the new exhibition “L.A. Memo: Chicana/o Art from 1972-1989,” which opens March 18.

The exhibition includes more than 50 mixed-media pieces by approximately 30 artists who came of age during the cultural and political movements of the 1960s and were influenced by the National Chicano Moratorium, a massive protest that happened in 1970 when more than 30,000 Latinos protested against the Vietnam War along Whittier Boulevard.

The exhibition includes paintings, screen prints, photographs, collages, digital prints, sculptures and videos made by artists such as muralist, painter and activist Judy Baca, who is currently the focus of a solo exhibition at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, as well as the late painter and activist Carlos Almaraz, whose work has been exhibited at places like LACMA.

The pieces in the exhibit examine the topics of race, gender, sexuality and citizenship, according to a release.

“Many of the artworks in this exhibition are today considered cornerstones of Chicana/o art history,” said Rafael Barrientos Martínez, curator of the exhibition in a press release.

If you go

When: March 18-Aug. 14

Where: La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 N. Main St. Los Angeles

Admission: Free

Information: lapca.org

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